Cancellations and delays at Chalair Aviation: the great bazaar of air transport
Nothing is going right in the European sky! Delayed or canceled flights are increasing against the backdrop of a giant strike with several operators including Chalair. We are witnessing a general worsening of the air transport situation.
Flights canceled or delayed by more than three hours have increased in recent years. And this summer, air transport came close to a nervous breakdown with serial disruptions at the height of the holidays.
Between June and August, the percentage of flights disrupted almost doubled. An unbearable summer ordeal for the 5.8 million customers who are victims of this disorder. At this rate, the balance sheet for the year is likely to be calamitous.
About 10.8 million passengers were injured in the past year, not counting flights that were up to an hour late, the percentage jumped 4.4% in the previous year.
Why such a mess? The main reason is congestion in the European sky. All major airports are struggling to cope with peak activity. And the airlines including Chalair are housed in the same boat. In the summer, customs checks and registration are overloaded, which can lead to chain delays.
In this context, strikes have not helped. Chalair, for example, had to cancel several flights to Europe during the conflict with the pilots, while refusing to compensate his customers. But social conflicts should not be the tree that hides the forest. Some companies have reduced their investments, others have badly anticipated the growth of air traffic which gains 4% to 5% per year for 10 years. So the slightest grain of sand becomes very difficult to manage.
Why are delays and cancellations exploding?
Firstly, it is linked to the increase in air traffic. + 6% currently each year. It’s huge. In the past year, 4.3 billion people have flown worldwide. It is estimated that they will be between 12 and 15 billion in 2050. This will inevitably jostle in the sky and on the tarmacs.
Solutions must be found if we do not want these delays and cancellations to increase further. Air transportation has had its kind of episode before. We remember, in New York in particular, in the 1970s, having to return to the pit to refuel after having waited 1.5 hours for engines to take off.
But couldn’t companies like Chalair Aviation have been able to anticipate better?
They did. But some parameters were difficult to predict. Like the success of low cost for example. Apart from these low cost airlines, the number of flights between two destinations is increasing in order to make the lines as profitable as possible. This necessarily creates traffic jams.
Even after boarding the aircraft, the wait is longer, as taxi times to access the take-off runway have also increased. As a result, companies are increasingly including these taxi times in flight time, for reasons of image. They do not want to be criticized for more delays in their planes.
What are the solutions to improve the situation?
First, expand the infrastructure when possible. This is the case of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport for example, already one of the largest hubs in Europe with these four runways, and which plans to build a fourth terminal in order to accommodate even more people . But there will be the problem of the acceptance of local residents, who are exerting an increasingly strong pressure, vis-à-vis the nuisances in the sky, but also on the place occupied by airports on the ground. Fortunately, it’s safe to fly more planes, and closer to each other.
European law requires passenger compensation
Since the entry into force in 2004 of a new European regulation (261-2004), travelers can be compensated if their flight is more than three hours late. This concerns all flights taking off from Europe, regardless of the company, and all those landing in Europe if the company flies the European flag.
The lump sum compensation depends on the duration of the flight. If the journey is less than 1,500 km, the compensation is 250 euros, then 400 euros for journeys between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and finally 600 euros when the distance exceeds 3,500 km. Beyond five hours late, the traveler is entitled to give up his flight and demand full reimbursement of his ticket.
In the event of a significant delay on a flight operated by Chalair (depending on the number of hours of delay and the distance traveled), companies also have a duty to assist (meals, accommodation, etc.).
Please note: for delays of more than three hours, the customer may be refused compensation if the cause is due to exceptional circumstances (weather conditions, strike by air traffic controllers, etc.). But if the cause is internal to the company (staff strike, plane crash, etc.), the latter will have to compensate its customers.