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Here’s Why Flights Are Being Cancelled This Summer

Travelers looking for a summer escape are facing long check-in lines, lost luggage, and cancelled flights.

why are flights being cancelled
Flight cancellations are rising due to a host of causes, including staffing shortages. (Image Credit: Mark Hodson/www.101holidays.co.uk)

Global travel is returning to pre-pandemic levels as the world learns to live with COVID, but travelers looking for a summer escape are facing long check-in lines, lost luggage, and cancelled flights.

Thousands of U.S. flights were cancelled or delayed this weekend alone.

The chaos at international terminals has been so bad that London’s Heathrow Airport announced last month a limit of 100,000 departing passengers until September 11. It also demanded that airline carriers cease selling additional tickets this summer.

The Dubai-based Emirates airline lashed out against Heathrow, calling its plans nothing short of “airmageddon.” Delta was forced in July to fly a plane from Heathrow to Detroit with a thousand pieces of backlogged luggage and no passengers. The trouble extends beyond Heathrow. Some American travelers who’ve departed from Paris’s de Gaulle Airport waited over two weeks to get their luggage.

So what’s behind the mess at airports in Europe and elsewhere? And when can travelers expect things to get better?

why are so many flights being cancelled
International travelers are facing extraordinary long lines and frequent flight cancellations this summer. (Image Credit: oddharmonic)

Why Are So Many Flights Being Cancelled?

Simply put, demand for air travel is exceeding the capacity of airlines and airports to handle passengers, luggage, and flights. Flight volume hasn’t quite reached pre-pandemic levels, but it’s getting there.

Demand Grows for Air Travel to Europe

Nearly half of Americans intend to travel this summer, according to a survey conducted in May by consulting firm Deloitte. And roughly half of Americans say they feel safe flying this summer — up from 31 percent in 2021 and 22 percent in 2020. Among U.S. international travelers, 49 percent say they will head to Europe.

The lifting of coronavirus testing requirements by the United States and other countries has also contributed to a surge in air travel demand since May, just as the summer vacation season was about to begin. This May, European carriers’ traffic rose by a whopping 412.3 percent compared to May 2021, according to the International Air Transport Association.

But Airlines Are Facing Staffing Shortages

When COVID shut down international travel, airlines, airports, and contractors cut staff. Many air travel industry workers, feeling underpaid and overworked, also joined the ranks of the Great Resignation. While the industry has begun rehiring workers, it takes time to retrain them and conduct background checks.

Staffing levels at Heathrow are now only at 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Worker shortages in Germany are so severe that it is hiring temporary workers from Turkey.

Inflation, too, is indirectly impacting the aviation industry. Employees of Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport operator went on strike in June, demanding pay raises commensurate with the rise in inflation. The strike has since come to an end as the airport operator and labor unions agreed on a 3 percent pay raise. But a technical glitch at the de Gaulle airport amid the labor shortage caused baggage delays.

When Will Air Travel Get Better?

Airport disruptions aren’t going away any time soon. Travelers should consider frequent flight cancellations and delays as our new normal for some time. Lufthansa says it does not anticipate a return to normal flight operations until 2023.

Airports With the Most Delays

These are the major international airports with the worst on-time records in July 2022, according to OAG:


1. Brussels Airport (BRU), Brussels, Belgium — 21.9%

brussels airport cancelled flights
An aerial view of Brussels Airport. (Image Credit: Abxbay)


2. Frankfurt International Airport (FRA), Frankfurt, Germany — 25.5%

frankfurt airport flight status today
A view of a terminal at Frankfurt International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany. (Image Credit: Mike Peel/mikepeel.net)

3. Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), Shanghai, China — 28.1%

shanghai pudong airport cancelled delay
Shanghai Pudong International Airport had the worst on-time record of any major airline in June 2022. (Image Credit: Yuya Sekiguchi)


4. Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), Lisbon, Portugal — 33.8%

lisbon humberto delgado airport flight status
A view of Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon, Portugal. (Image Credit: F Delventhal)

5. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), Paris, France — 34.1%

paris de gaulle airport flight status
Charles de Gaulle International AIrport in Paris, France. (Image Credit: Burkhard Mücke)


6. Manchester Airport (MAN), Manchester, United Kingdom — 34.8%

Manchester Airport flight delays today
Check in at Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2. (Image Credit: Ardfern)


7. London Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, United Kingdom — 35.3%

london gatwick airport why are flights being cancelled
The departures area at London Gatwick Airport. (Image Credit: Mike McBey)


8. Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL), Montreal, Canada — 35.9%

Montreal trudeau Airport Flight delays cancellations
An exterior view of Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport. (Image Credit: Jiaqian AirplaneFan)


9. Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport (YYZ), Toronto, Canada — 36.1%

Toronto Pearson International Airport delays cancellations
The front of Terminal 1 at Toronto Pearson International Airport. (Image Credit: Qyd)


10. London Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, United Kingdom — 38.9%

London heathrow airport flights cancelled delayed
The main departures area of London Heathrow Airport. (Image Credit: David Iliff, republished under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license)


11. Munich International Airport (MUC), Munich, Germany — 39.9%

munich airport why are flights being cancelled
Munich Airport had the 11th worst on-time record among major airports in July 2022.


12. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), Amsterdam, Netherlands — 42.2%

amsterdam airport flights cancelled
A view of the entrance of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. (Image Credit: Cjh1452000)

13. Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Australia — 43.7%

Melbourne Airport flights delays europe
Terminal 1 of Melbourne Airport. (Image Credit: MDRX)

14. Antalya Airport (AYT), Antalya, Turkey — 44.7%

antalya airport turkey flights cancellations status
International Terminal 2 at Antalya Airport in Turkey. (Image Credit: Netfuture)

15. Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD), Sydney, Australia — 44.8%

sydney kingsford smith airport departures arrivals delays canceled
An aerial view of Sydney Airport’s Terminal 1. (Image Credit: MDRX)

16. Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), Shanghai, China — 44.9%

shanghai international airport flight cancellations
Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is one of two international airports in Shanghai. (Image Credit: Reinhold Moller)

17. Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP), Milan, Italy — 45.0%

milan malpensa airport international flights delays
Terminal 1 at Milan Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy. (Image Credit: Ardfern)

18. Athens International Airport (ATH), Athens, Greece — 45.2%

athens international airport flights cancelled
Athens International Airport had one of the worst on-time records among major airports in July 2022. (Image Credit: George Kokkinidis)

19. Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN), Stockholm, Sweden — 47.6%

stockholm arlanda airport cancellations delays
Terminal 5 at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. (Image Credit: Calle Eklund/V-wolf)

20. Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), Berlin, Germany — 48.3%

berlin brandenburg airport BER checkin delays
The check-in hall at Terminal 1 of Berlin Brandenburg Airport. (Image Credit: Marco Verch)

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