Thousands of passengers experience delays at Copenhagen Airport
Many passengers at Copenhagen Airport have seen their journeys delayed because of a shortage of air traffic control staff.
Figures provided by the airport to news wire Ritzau on Tuesday illustrate the extent to which an ongoing staffing issue travel through Denmark’s largest airport has affected passengers.
On Sunday, 92 departures were delayed by more than 15 minutes, Ritzau reports. That corresponds to 30 percent of flights. Just under half of all arrivals – 116 – were delayed by over 15 minutes.
The delays affected 28,000 passengers of the 75,400 who passed through the airport on Sunday.
Copenhagen Airport director of traffic Kristoffer Plenge-Brandt said he hoped for a solution in the near future.
“We can’t actively solve the problem but we have a very close dialogue with [air traffic control company] Naviair’s leadership about the conflict, where we try to put pressure on them to find a solution,” he said.
The staff shortage is related to recruitment challenges following the Covid-19 pandemic. In a statement on its website last week, Naviair apologised for the delays the issue had caused and said it was working to rectify them.
A problem finding sufficient staff for traffic operation is at the centre of the issue. Naviair has previously said it would work with trade unions to find short and long term solutions.
The company also said it is working to train additional staff – a process which can take up to three years, although it expects an improvement sooner than this because it has already increased intake of trainees.
“We have some busy days and at the moment that’s typically Friday and Sunday,” Plenge-Brandt said.
“So we are obviously preparing as much as we can along with our partners to limit the negative effect on the experience at the airport,” he said.
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Figures provided by the airport to news wire Ritzau on Tuesday illustrate the extent to which an ongoing staffing issue travel through Denmark’s largest airport has affected passengers.
On Sunday, 92 departures were delayed by more than 15 minutes, Ritzau reports. That corresponds to 30 percent of flights. Just under half of all arrivals – 116 – were delayed by over 15 minutes.
The delays affected 28,000 passengers of the 75,400 who passed through the airport on Sunday.
Copenhagen Airport director of traffic Kristoffer Plenge-Brandt said he hoped for a solution in the near future.
“We can’t actively solve the problem but we have a very close dialogue with [air traffic control company] Naviair’s leadership about the conflict, where we try to put pressure on them to find a solution,” he said.
The staff shortage is related to recruitment challenges following the Covid-19 pandemic. In a statement on its website last week, Naviair apologised for the delays the issue had caused and said it was working to rectify them.
A problem finding sufficient staff for traffic operation is at the centre of the issue. Naviair has previously said it would work with trade unions to find short and long term solutions.
The company also said it is working to train additional staff – a process which can take up to three years, although it expects an improvement sooner than this because it has already increased intake of trainees.
“We have some busy days and at the moment that’s typically Friday and Sunday,” Plenge-Brandt said.
“So we are obviously preparing as much as we can along with our partners to limit the negative effect on the experience at the airport,” he said.
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