European punctuality figures 'make bad reading'
21 February 2008The Association of European Airlines (AEA) has released its punctuality figures for 2007 and said that the statistics "do not make encouraging reading".
Last year represented the fourth successive year that punctuality deteriorated on intra-European flights, highlighting the growing importance of travel insurance to cover delays.
Some 22.7 per cent of departures in Europe were delayed by more than 15 minutes in 2007, up from 22.3 per cent the previous year.
In June and July last year, the proportion of flights delayed by at least 15 minutes was 29.7 and 28.3 per cent respectively, which were the highest individual monthly figures since the summer of 2000.
The AEA figures for 2007 reflected particularly badly on London, with Heathrow suffering the highest incidence of delay (35.5 per cent), followed by Gatwick, Rome, Dublin and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
This was the second consecutive year that London's busiest airport had the worst punctuality record in Europe.
AEA secretary Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus said: "Hopefully, 2008 will mark a turning point in the agonisingly slow process towards a single European sky. We are looking forward to the second phase of single sky legislation, expected this summer, to bring a new impetus to the programme.
"The task can then begin to redesign European route network, eliminate inefficiencies and open up to civil traffic some of the huge tracts of airspace reserved for military flying."