Close to 400 flights were either delayed or cancelled across major European airports including Amsterdam Schiphol, London Heathrow, Frankfurt International and Athens International, causing widespread travel disruption for thousands of passengers. Airlines such as Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates, United Airlines, and others reported major operational setbacks, as infrastructure and staffing struggled to cope with peak summer demand.
At Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, one of the continent’s busiest aviation hubs, the ripple effects were most pronounced. A total of 96 flights were delayed and six cancelled. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines faced the brunt of the chaos, with 43 delays and all six cancellations attributed to its schedule. Other impacted carriers included Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, easyJet, Transavia, Turkish Airlines, American Airlines and Emirates. Cargo carriers also reported delays, with some departures held back by 100% of their scheduled departure time. Ground operations teams reported difficulties handling tight aircraft turnaround schedules and unscheduled swaps, leading to confusion among passengers, some of whom waited hours for updates.
London Heathrow, another major international hub, witnessed 80 flight delays and three cancellations. British Airways saw 35 delayed departures and one cancellation, while United Airlines had two delays and two cancelled flights. American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Air India, Lufthansa, Delta and several other operators also faced service disruptions. Operations staff at Heathrow attributed the bottlenecks to runway congestion, short-staffed logistics teams, and high-density scheduling, particularly on transatlantic routes. Germany’s Frankfurt Airport, a major base for Lufthansa, saw 126 delays and one cancellation. Lufthansa alone recorded 62 delayed flights, while other airlines including Condor, Air Dolomiti, CityJet, Delta, Korean Air, Air Astana and Turkish Airlines also struggled to maintain regular operations. According to airport officials, aircraft repositioning issues and reduced staff in fuelling and cargo management were primary causes for the delays.
Southern Europe wasn’t spared either. At Athens International Airport, 82 flights were delayed and two cancelled. Local carriers Aegean Airlines, Sky Express, and Olympic Air were significantly impacted, alongside international airlines such as Emirates, Lufthansa, ITA Airways, Gulf Air, and Middle East Airlines. Airport teams reported that crew shortages and insufficient turnaround time between flights were responsible for the mounting backlog. In total, the day saw 384 delays and 12 cancellations across the four key hubs. This brings the total number of impacted flights to 396, with consequences extending beyond Europe to long-haul services bound for Asia, North America and the Middle East. The disruptions also affected connecting flights and cargo logistics, especially for airlines with shared international schedules and code-share arrangements.
Airline industry analysts have pointed to a combination of factors behind the disruption. Chronic staff shortages, particularly among airside operational roles, have left airports unable to handle peak summer volumes. The ongoing mismatch between high post-pandemic travel demand and underprepared infrastructure continues to pose serious operational challenges. Aircraft turnaround inefficiencies and tight slot scheduling under heavy air traffic control restrictions have added further complexity to flight planning. The situation has also been aggravated by increasing passenger volumes with the start of school holidays in many European countries. Passenger footfall at major European hubs has already returned to or exceeded pre-pandemic levels. This has placed considerable strain on airport terminals, ground handling crews, and scheduling software designed to run under more predictable demand conditions.
Authorities across the affected airports have issued advisories asking passengers to arrive well ahead of their departure time, keep track of gate updates via airline apps, and prepare for longer wait times. Several airlines are now encouraging passengers to use self-check-in kiosks, and many are issuing rebooking notifications through digital platforms. In some cases, hotels have been arranged for stranded travellers whose connections were missed due to extended delays. Industry insiders warn that without immediate interventions to address staffing deficits and streamline airport logistics, similar or even worse disruptions could continue through the remainder of the summer travel season. While contingency plans have been announced at several airports, it remains unclear whether they will be adequate to absorb further shocks in air traffic management.
Airlines that bore the brunt of today’s disruptions include KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa, Aegean Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Emirates and Air France. These carriers collectively operate some of the highest-frequency intra-European and intercontinental routes and are particularly vulnerable to domino-effect delays when aircraft miss their scheduled departure or arrival slots. With air travel bouncing back faster than many in the aviation sector had anticipated, airports and airlines now find themselves in a reactive mode. The challenges of hiring, training, and deploying operational staff in large numbers at short notice continue to hamper capacity expansion. Experts suggest that it may take several more quarters for staffing and airport logistics to fully stabilise, especially if international travel demand continues on its current trajectory.
In the meantime, passengers are advised to check their flight status frequently, arrive early at airports, and remain flexible with their travel plans as Europe’s aviation ecosystem tries to regain control of its summer schedules.
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