The tourist season may have just begun, but delays in flying have already appeared, with constantly assessed punctuality at the time of arrival and departure. According to the information, today’s movements (arrivals – departures) airplane at Eleftherios Venizelos airport they are 18 per hour, while last year it was 28. This change is due to the work methods of air traffic controllers, who, how they themselves explain “K”decided to reduce the speed of aircraft traffic control for reasons they consider necessary, such as upgrading electronic systems.

But what explains the difference in the number of movements compared to the summer period of 2022? “Last year, the staff made a particularly big effort, and thus it became possible to increase the number of flights.

However, this year, technical reasons dictate a reduction in the number of aircraft flights, ”says the air traffic controller. However, this year, as in the past (when the infrastructure was the same), the targeted benefit applies to air traffic controllers, the amount of which is set at 9 million euros. It was established by Law 4949/2022 with the aim of reducing delays, while the participation of air traffic controllers in the promotion (team for exceeding the indicators) is optional.

However, people familiar with the matter say the delays are part of the negotiating tactic of air traffic controllers who are asked to share with the Civil Aviation Authority the assistance (route and airfield area fees) that is provided through Eurocontrol.

Flight delays, which at regional airports are at the same level as last year, in addition to inconvenience to passengers, also increase the costs of airlines that are asked to adjust the hours of their crews or pay compensation. According to the European Organization for Aviation Safety (Eurocontrol) on May 2, at Athens airport 56.3% of flights arrived within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, a percentage that formed last year on the same day at 67.2%. . In addition, 70.5% of flights departed within 15 minutes of scheduled time, compared to 77.5% on May 2, 2022.

Pan-European, according to the latest estimates of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), it is still difficult to bet on the accuracy of the departure and arrival times of flights this summer.

As an IATA official recently said, due to the closed airspace of Russia and Ukraine, the airspace will be diverted to the south, congesting the already busy southeast European corridor to and from Turkey and Greece. In 2022, flight arrival delays increased by 33% across Europe.

In any case, at Eleftherios Venizelos, by all indications, passenger traffic is predicted to be higher than in 2019. In total, in the first four months of the year, the airport’s passenger traffic amounted to 6.6 million, an increase of 47.5 million% and 4% compared to the first quarter of 2022 and 2019, respectively.