For a few good months, the aviation industry has been struggling to keep up with the post pandemic air travel demands. Delays, cancellations, luggage misplacements resulted in a general flying chaos across the globe.
While passengers and airlines alike were hoping that things would get back to normal for the winter season, it seems the problems are continuing. Some airlines have already announced they are cancelling thousands of flights this winter, more will probably follow. And while they are struggling to keep up with their schedules, Ryanair seems to be doing better than ever.
1. Lufthansa
This week, Lufthansa has confirmed some flights will be cancelled until 26 March 2023. Details about the total number of flights or the routes to be cancelled are yet to be announced, but the airline said Frankfurt Airport will be particularly affected due to staff shortages.
2. British Airways
British Airways has announced that it will eliminate 10,000 flights to and from Heathrow between late October and the end of March
The airline said the decision was taken with the goal of minimizing disruption over the winter given the extension of the cap on daily passenger numbers imposed by Heathrow airport. Most cancellations will be on routes which have other daily services to the same destinations.
3. SAS Scandinavian Airline
SAS is cancelling 1,600 flights in September and October, saying a pilots’ strike in July and delays in aircraft deliveries are the cause. The airline has previously blamed the strike for its bankruptcy.
4. Wizz Air
Wizz Air has announced almost all of the flights from Cardiff Airport, Wales, will be cancelled for over 6 months starting now. The only routes still serviced from Cardiff will be to and from Bucharest and Milan.
5. American Airlines
American Airlines is scrapping over 29,000 flights only in November, in an attempt to reduce sudden cancellations and extreme delays. For this, some routes will just be operated less frequently, while others will not be serviced at all.
6. Delta Air Lines
Delta is also lowering the number of flights for November, cancelling over 4,000. The airline said the cancellations were necessary as a high number of employees got sick, leaving them short staffed and unable to operate all the flights.
7. Ryanair adds flights
While others are still struggling, Ryanais, which has been the least affected airline this summer, despite strikes and lawsuits from its pilots, is planning to actually increase its winter schedule, taking advantage of the high demand.
While BA are cancelling 8% of their winter schedule due to staff shortages and Hopeless Heathrow’s capacity restrictions, Ryanair is now adding more capacity to our largest ever winter schedule.
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair CEO
This winter, the airline plans to increase its capacity by over one million passengers in the UK alone. Adding routes to 20 airports, Ryanair has increased its target from 165 million to 166.5 million customers.
