Seasonal analysis of flight disruptions: When is EasyJet most likely to delay or cancel flights?
Sponsored Editorial
EasyJet is one of the leading British aviation groups, which focuses on providing low-cost air traffic services across 35 countries.
Affordable ticket prices make the airline increasingly popular, so it rightfully ranks among the top five European operators, along with Ryanair, Lufthansa, IAG, and Air France-KLM.
Last year saw 1,477 EasyJet daily flights - an 11% increase on 2022, while the total number of disrupted flights reached over 13,000 per year.
Delays and cancellations are not rare in today’s air travel, but why do they happen?
Although a significant portion of risks are hard to predict, some of them come around year after year, so knowing the seasonal patterns of flight disruptions will give you a better understanding of when EasyJet is most likely to cancel or delay their flights so that you can plan your trips more efficiently.
Let us delve into the seasonal performance of EasyJet by analysing recent statistics.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
EasyJet flights can be cancelled or delayed for a variety of reasons. While some are caused by the airline’s control, others involve extraordinary circumstances.
Anyway, there are some rights you are entitled to as a passenger if your flight is cancelled. Skycop keeps you informed, as well as helps you obtain your EasyJet compensation without hassle at https://www.skycop.com/compensation/easyjet/.
So why may your flight be cancelled or delayed? The most common disruption causes include…
• Weather-related issues and natural disasters (thunderstorms, strong winds, heavy fog, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc)
• ATC restrictions (excessive air traffic, lack of space at the airport, etc)
• Mechanical problems
• Lack of crew (shortage of available flight attendants or pilots)
• Government regulations (Ukrainian airspace closure due to Russia's military invasion, etc)
• Security issues (civil disturbance, bomb threats, etc)
• ATC strikes
• Lack of passengers
• Bird strikes
Looking at the overall ATFM delay of all network flights for the period from January to November, the figures remained relatively steady between 2023 and 2022, amounted to 17.7 min/flight in 2023 vs 17.4 min/flight in 2022.
The changes involve French ATC strikes in April-May and higher en-route delays due to the increased traffic in Hungarian airspace caused by the closure of Ukrainian airspace.
SEASONAL ANALYSIS OF FLIGHT DISRUPTIONS
Even though every season delivers certain challenges for air travel, weather and ATC capacity/staffing remain the two main culprits of flight disruptions throughout the year – they generated 72% of all en-route ATFM delays in 2023.
Take a closer look at the seasonal patterns in EasyJet flight disruptions below.
Winter: Winter is fraught with weather hazards, like snowfall and fog, which reduce visibility and make it difficult for a plane to take off and land. What’s more, severe ice build-up on the wings may cause the plane to manoeuvre uncontrollably, and this brings the need for de-icing, affecting the punctuality of takeoffs. The situation is aggravated even more due to the craziness of winter holidays when both airports and flights are overcrowded.
Spring: This season is not immune to weather-related challenges that disrupt air travel. Heavy rainfalls with low clouds and dense fog may drop visibility to nearly zero, while wild winds and thunderstorms cause severe turbulence and can batter a plane en-route. Bird migration poses another danger, leading to flight delays or cancellations. Spring 2023 also saw plenty of ATC strikes accounting for the majority of EasyJet flight disruptions in May.
Summer: Flying volumes start to ramp up already in June when the weather gets warmer and people engage in travelling. This cannot but impact the aviation sector, leading to different ATC capacity/staffing issues. Thus, EasyJet cancelled over 1,700 flights in the summer of 2023 due to the rising challenges in European air traffic control. About 50% of flights from June to August were also disrupted because of the poor weather conditions. Not only do thunderstorms and rain impact flights in summer, but heatwaves can also make airport runways unsafe for staff – exposure to the sun and high temperatures for prolonged periods causes exhaustion, which deteriorates the performance of workers.
Autumn: Autumn flight delays and cancellations are often related to bad weather and high sickness levels among air traffic controllers. The staff working outside in rough, cold weather is more susceptible to seasonal flu, and the lack of workers makes air traffic control more challenging. So, 25,000 passengers failed to get on their flight at Gatwick Airport in September 2023 because of the staff shortage driven by sickness, and EasyJet bore the brunt of these cancellations.
MITIGATION STRATEGIES
While flight disruptions may seem an inescapable part of air travel, EasyJet implements some strategies to handle the issue. So, the operator has introduced an innovative satellite technology, called Iris, to shape the length and frequency of flight delays.
Designed by the European Space Agency in collaboration with Viasat, the system enhances communication between ATC and pilots, while it was previously dependent on radio frequencies – still a good but less flexible option.
Iris allows for the creation of more efficient, direct flight routes, which contributes to the reduction of flying time and harmful emissions.
So far, just one EasyJet aircraft is using Iris on routes, but the company has announced adding the technology to a dozen other planes soon in 2024.
FUTURE OUTLOOK
Weather patterns have been showing steady worsening throughout recent years, imposing new and new risks and challenges for air transportation.
Besides, the aviation industry keeps recovering from the Covid-19 outbreak, so 2023 recorded as many as 10.2 million flights in Europe, a 10% rise compared to 2022, while the number of passengers reached 1.19 billion - a 21% growth on 2022.
Since the situation will hardly change, we are about to see an increase in air traffic in the next years.
However, this is not to say that flight punctuality will be compromised. Aircraft operators are investing in various strategies to minimise the impact of flight delays on passengers by leveraging the power of cutting-edge technology, so the future looks rather promising today.
CONCLUSION
Such a major carrier like EasyJet has found itself struggling with punctuality and flight cancellations, mainly due to severe weather conditions and issues with airport capacity/staffing. In addition, the surge in air travel demand during peak holiday seasons aggravated the situation, leading to an increased number of EasyJet delays and cancellations across Europe.
Knowing seasonal patterns of flight disruptions is crucial for getting enjoyable travel experiences.
After all, delays and cancellations are more than an annoyance – they can ruin your plans completely by making you miss a connected flight, lose money on holiday, or arrive late for an important meeting.
So, take advantage of the data provided in this article to master better trip planning and get a more pleasurable EasyJet passenger experience.
