Europe becomes the epicenter for this summer's travel chaos

Travellers in Europe are paying ever more for a plane ticket and yet have less chance of actually making it to their destination.

From London to Amsterdam to Berlin, chaotic scenes are playing out at airports as the fine-tuned interplay between check-in desks, security personnel and baggage handlers unravels. While Asia's travel industry is still navigating Covid-19 and the US suffers from a shortage of pilots, ticket pricing and cancellation data show Europe is where the turmoil has converged to inflict maximum pain on consumers.

Europe had more than double the cancellations of US carriers between April and June, according to data from flight tracking company RadarBox.com. Axed flights in June - the start of Europe's peak summer season - totaled 7,870 for departures from Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain, almost triple the number in the same period in 2019, aviation consultancy Cirium says.


Meanwhile, fares on summer routes such as London to Alicante in Spain this week are more than three times higher than the same week last year, according to data from Kayak.com. Prices from Paris to New York have tripled since March 2019.

The breakdown highlights how a faster-than-expected recovery in air travel has clashed with a massive staffing shortage after deep cuts during the pandemic. Instead of a roaring comeback, the global aviation industry is stumbling, unable to rapidly fire up operations again from the worst travel slump on record and making what in the past might have been a routine trip more of an odyssey.

The malaise is being exacerbated by strikes across the continent as rampant inflation leads to higher pay demands. Indeed, recent weeks have been dominated by images of lines of people snaking outside terminal buildings in Amsterdam, groups camped out in departure halls in Frankfurt and piles of misplaced luggage in London. Alternative modes of transport for shorter hops are also looking less than alluring, with the UK gripped by rail strikes and a jump in the cost of driving after a surge in gasoline prices.

Governments are taking note and taking action, as are financial markets. Investors are selling airline bonds as an industry that was supposed to profit from pent up demand for travel instead contends with upheaval again.