Irish ultra-low-cost airline Ryanair Holdings plc (RY4C.DE,RYA.L,RYA.IR) on Tuesday condemned today's illegal wildcat strike by Belgian ATC controllers, which unfairly forced the short notice cancellation of 100 Ryanair flights to and from Charleroi and Zaventem Airports, disrupting almost 20,000 passengers.
The flight cancellations and delays have affected passengers travelling to and from Belgium as a result of a tiny number of Belgian air traffic controllers' decision to strike with zero notice given to airlines who pay millions of euros annually for ATC services, which have been withdrawn today without any prior notice.
The airline noted that the ATC controllers should have provided fair and sufficient notice - at least 24 hours - so that airlines can reorganize flights and protect passengers from unnecessary cancellations. Many of these passengers are travelling on holidays with young families.
The Draghi Report called on Europe to deliver competitiveness, but nothing highlights the failure of Europe competitiveness under "Useless Ursula" von der Leyen more than these latest ATC strikes.
The airline stated that the EU Commission has a duty to protect the single market for air travel yet zero progress has been made. Every year ATC controllers hold European citizens to ransom, and "Useless Ursula" von der Leyen does nothing about it - except make speeches, the airline added.
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