Summer mayhem for holidaymakers as air traffic control hits thousands of European flights

Holidaymakers face a summer of chaos as air traffic control strike is expected to delay or cancel thousands of European flightsEuropean air traffic managers set to strike over summer vacation, ruining breaksThey got complained about need to recruit new staff after Covid shortages -section byline-plain">By Oliver Price

Posted: 01:20 BST, 07 Jul 2023 | Update : 10.14am BST, 7 July 2023

Up to three in ten European flights this summer are at risk of being delayed or canceled after air traffic controllers warned that 'they would strike.

Staff at European air traffic management body Eurocontrol reportedly said they would take industrial action during peak periods after talks with bosses over wages, staff and rosters broke down.

Families hoping for a trip abroad must now wait to find out if their flights will be affected, with strike dates set to be revealed within days.

Walkouts could cause delays or cancellations of up to 12,600 flights a day across the continent, an industry source told The Times.

They warned: "In a strike on a large scale, at least 20-30% of flights would be delayed. Those are big numbers.'

Eurocontrol expects to handle 33,000 flights dailies over the next eight weeks to more than 34,000 on Friday.

A senior airline source told the newspaper the im.. .