Ryanair's outspoken chief executive, Michael O'Leary, has issued a stark warning that industrial action by French air traffic controllers threatens to plunge summer travel into chaos. The Irish airline boss cautioned that strikes could materialise as early as May or June, potentially triggering widespread flight delays and severe staff shortages across European aviation networks.
Predicting a Summer of Disruption
Speaking at a recent Ryanair briefing, O'Leary painted a grim picture for the upcoming peak travel season. "We think this summer will be another mess with air traffic control," he told The Independent. The CEO specifically highlighted weekends as a critical vulnerability, predicting that controllers might not turn up for duty on Saturdays and Sundays during the busy summer schedule.
The Staffing Crisis Behind 'Mythical' Restrictions
O'Leary challenged what he described as 'mythical' air traffic control capacity restrictions, arguing that the real issue is fundamentally one of inadequate staffing. "The 'capacity restrictions' are instead staff shortages," he asserted. The Ryanair boss proposed a direct financial penalty system, stating, "We believe the European Union should be fining air traffic control providers if they're not fully staffed for the first wave of morning flights – particularly on Saturdays and Sundays during the summer."
His argument centres on a crucial operational principle: if the initial rotation of daily flights departs smoothly, subsequent journeys are far more likely to remain on schedule. This focus on the first wave of flights aims to prevent the damaging 'knock-on effect' of delays that can cascade throughout the entire day's aviation network.
Echoes of Past Disruption
The warning comes with painful recent precedent. Last July, a crippling strike by French air traffic controllers, organised by two major unions protesting alleged understaffing and 'toxic management', forced Ryanair to cancel hundreds of flights. This action impacted tens of thousands of passengers. At the time, O'Leary expressed frustration, noting that over 400 Ryanair flights and more than 70,000 passengers faced disruption due to what he termed 'recreational strikes' by a tiny number of French controllers.
"The bizarre justification for this week's ATC strike is their objection to 'short staffing'. Every year they find something new to strike about," he remarked previously. A significant portion of the affected flights were overflights—aircraft passing through French airspace without landing—which O'Leary argues should be legally protected by the European Commission.
Data and Demands for Action
Supporting these concerns, a report from Eurocontrol, the European air traffic control safety organisation, emphasises the importance of managing the first rotation of flights to avoid network-wide delays. Furthermore, data from Riviera Radio indicates that a staggering 31 per cent of all ATC-related delays in Europe last summer originated from issues within France.
In response to the persistent problem, Ryanair has actively campaigned for reform. The airline previously launched a public initiative titled 'Air Traffic Control Ruined Your Flight' and has repeatedly called on the European Commission to safeguard the 20 per cent of European journeys that merely overfly France. The carrier's website states unequivocally, "Europe’s National Transport Ministers must be held accountable for allowing such unnecessary ATC delays to repeatedly occur."
As the summer approaches, O'Leary's latest warning places renewed pressure on EU authorities and French ATC providers to address chronic staffing shortages and avert another season of travel misery for millions of passengers.
