The chief executive of Ryanair has warned that flight delays and cancellations will continue “right throughout the summer” as airports struggle with staff shortages. Michael O’Leary told Sky News that passengers should expect a “less than satisfactory experience”, with delays predicted across the peak season and some airlines cancelling up to 10 per cent of flights.
Mr O’Leary said the problems would be particularly bad at London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports, and worse at weekends. He noted that 99 per cent of Ryanair flights were departing, and that conditions at its Stansted base were better than elsewhere, but admitted it would be a “struggle through the summer”.
The Ryanair boss blamed shortages of airport staff in air traffic control, baggage handling and security. He said Brexit was compounding the disruption, as airports could not hire workers from abroad to fill posts. “There are hundreds of thousands of jobs in the UK that frankly British workers don’t want to do,” he said.
Mr O’Leary added that Ryanair was not immune: 25 per cent of its flights were delayed last weekend due to air traffic control issues, and a further 15 per cent by airport handling delays. The warning comes after Heathrow asked airlines to cut 10 per cent of flights at two terminals, affecting about 5,000 passengers, and easyJet began cancelling thousands of summer flights.
