Air traffic control (ATC) strikes since March have led to thousands of cancelled flights this year while a renewed surge in terrorism in markets such as France and Turkey are impacting travel with knock-on effect on shopping and duty free sales.

According to Airlines for Europe (A4E) – Europe’s largest airline association* based in Brussels – ATC strikes reduced European Union GDP by up to €9.5bn/$10.5bn between 2010-15. The figure is based on a new study on the economic impact of ATC strikes in the region, released last month.

A4E notes that during this period there were 167 ATC strike days in the EU: one disrupted day every 13 days and it claims that southern European markets suffer more than others from strikes because passengers are unable to reach their holiday destinations. Across the EU, ATC strikes occur most frequently in France, followed by Greece, Italy and Portugal.

The latest ATC strikes in Greece, Italy, Belgium and France since March this year caused around 4,000 cancellations among A4E members in 2016 equating to more than 16,000 hours of delays across all airlines operating in European airspace.

Thomas Reynaert, Managing Director of A4E, comments: “We are not questioning the individual right of workers to take industrial action, but strikes should be the last step, not the first. We cannot allow air traffic controllers infringing the rights of millions of European travellers. The reputation of Europe is under threat.”

PILING ON THE MISERY

That reputation is also under threat in other quarters. As well as the strike action, airlines are now having to contend with terrorism. Europe, once considered a very safe destination, is being re-evaluated by travellers worldwide following a string of terrorist incidents which have affected the duty free and travel retail sector, particularly in France and Turkey.

Today Air France KLM revealed its first half results for 2016 with revenue down by -2.6% to €11.82bn/$13.1bn. In its outlook for the rest of the year the airline notes a “high level of geopolitical and economic uncertainties [such as terrorism and Brexit], and special concern about France as a destination” a reference to the multiple terrorism incidents recorded in recent months.

It also noted that the Air France pilot strike negatively impacted its operating result by an estimated €40m in the second quarter.

Meanwhile in the first quarter [before June’s Istanbul Airport bomb attack] Turkish Airlines, saw its sales revenue fall to $2.19bn,  down -1% year-on-year resulting in a loss of $214m  in the quarter. In the same period a year earlier the airline made a $17m profit.

In May when it announced its Q1 results, the company said: “Political and economic instabilities and increasing perceived global and regional risks in Turkey and Europe have had a negative impact on aviation demand and placed additional pressure on yields on a seasonally low quarter.”

*A4E launched in January 2016 and counts Aegean, Air France KLM, easyJet, Finnair, International Airlines Group (IAG), Jet2.com, Lufthansa Group, Norwegian, Ryanair, TAP Portugal and Volotea among its members. They carry more than 500m passengers annually and account for more than 60% of Europe’s passenger journeys.