The summer of 2024 brought unpleasant surprises for many travelers in Europe: Over 38 percent of passengers had to deal with delays or cancellations of their flights. A total of 112,4 million passengers were affected by the problems, according to an analysis by the travel tech company AirHelp.
The situation was particularly dramatic in Germany, where Cologne-Bonn Airport recorded the highest cancellation and delay rate in the country. Airlines also struggled with massive delays in countries such as Greece and Serbia, which are traditionally popular summer travel destinations.
Rising delays in Europe: A persistent problem
The summer months of June to August 2024 marked a difficult time for European air traffic. With almost 40 percent of all flights delayed or cancelled altogether, the pressure on infrastructure at airports and airlines was clearly noticeable. These figures are far higher than the levels of the pre-pandemic years, when an average of 27 percent of flights were delayed.
Greece recorded the highest number of affected passengers at 50,7 percent, which was particularly noticeable in the busy holiday regions. Serbia followed closely behind with 49,1 percent. This development is not new: These countries already led the negative statistics in 2019, 2022 and 2023. Bulgaria, Romania and Italy were also among the countries with high delay rates, which shows that the problem is concentrated in the southern and eastern European region.
Germany in the delay ranking: Airports under pressure
In Germany, the delay rate in summer 2024 was 44,4 percent, putting the country in sixth place in Europe. Cologne-Bonn Airport in particular caused frustration among passengers: more than half of passengers (53,4 percent) experienced delays or flight cancellations here. Airports such as Frankfurt-Hahn and Munich also showed similar figures, which placed a massive strain on the infrastructure in Germany's largest hubs.
Interestingly, Weeze Airport was able to assert itself as the most punctual airport in Germany, even though more than a third of passengers were still affected by delays (33,8 percent). This result shows that even the most punctual airports in Germany are facing significant problems.
Reasons for the delays: Airlines in focus
A significant proportion of the delays and cancellations were attributable to the airlines themselves. In Romania, where the rate of delays caused by airlines was particularly high, 927.300 percent of affected passengers were entitled to compensation. The situation was similar in Albania and the United Kingdom, where high compensation rates were also recorded. In Germany, more than XNUMX travelers were entitled to compensation, which shows the far-reaching impact of the problem.
Compensation claims: passengers must be vigilant
For many affected passengers, this means not only a loss of time, but also the right to financial compensation. According to EU Regulation 261/2004, travelers are entitled to compensation payments for delays of more than three hours caused by the airline. This affects more than nine million passengers across Europe who experienced significant delays or flight cancellations in the summer of 2024. In countries such as Romania and Albania, compensation claims are particularly high, which underlines the importance of legal regulations for travelers in these countries.
Air passenger rights expert Nina Staub from AirHelp stresses that travellers should know their rights and assert their claims in the event of flight problems. This requires careful documentation of delays and cancellations, which can then be used to claim compensation after the trip.
Differences in punctuality: Northern Europe as a model
In contrast to the problems in southern Europe and Germany, the Scandinavian countries fare comparatively well. Norway leads the ranking of the most punctual countries with a delay rate of only 19,7 percent. Iceland and Finland are also well below the European average with 20,6 percent and 24,6 percent respectively. These figures illustrate the differences in infrastructure and operational processes between different regions of Europe. Northern European countries, with their more efficient organization of airports and airlines, seem to be better able to withstand the growing pressure on air traffic.
Forecast for the coming months: Can we expect further flight problems?
Even though summer 2024 is already behind travelers, the challenges for European air traffic could continue in the fall and winter. Staff shortages and possible strikes are likely to mean that flight problems will continue in the coming months. In particular, the already strained airports in southern Europe and Germany could come under further pressure, forcing passengers to plan carefully and possibly prepare for flight cancellations and delays.
A difficult summer for Europe’s air passengers
The summer of 2024 has made it clear that air transport in Europe continues to face significant challenges. High delay and cancellation rates not only affect travel comfort, but also the economic prospects for the tourism industry. While passengers in Scandinavia got through the summer relatively well, millions of travelers in countries such as Greece, Serbia and Germany were affected by flight problems.
The persistently high delay rates show that European airports and airlines urgently need to modernise their infrastructure and adapt to the increasing demand. At the same time, passengers must know their rights and insist on compensation in the event of flight problems in order to offset financial losses.