In 2018, number of flight delays increased by over 100% in the congested European airspace, when compared with 2017. IATA expects 2019 to be bring no relief and delays to remain on the same level ‒ in the best case scenario.

IATA advocates for European countries to develop national airspace strategies. It also proposes that modernizing the region’s airspace infrastructure and aligning investments between airlines and service providers.

Calling air traffic control in the continent “complex and highly fragmented”, IATA blames inconsistent ATM service levels for delays, haphazard and indirect flight routings.

“With 37 ANSPs, 63 en-route centers and 56,300 total staff our region’s airspace is

more complex than it should be,” says Rafael Schvartzman, IATA Europe regional vice president. “Air transport is a truly global business and governments need to treat air traffic management this way as well”.