Costs for passengers and airlines due to the significant delays and other irregularities at European airports in the 2022 summer season

Abstract

In the 2022 summer season, severe flight delays, lost luggage and other irregularities were recorded at a number of European airports. Staff cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic, a fairly strong recovery in the aviation sector in 2022 and resulting staff shortages were identified as the main causes. However, some airports (e.g. in Southern Germany) appear to have managed these problems better than others. Such severe delays and other irregularities in air transport cause economic damage for different stakeholders, especially for airport operators, airlines, the (federal) police, ANSPs (air navigation service providers), ground-handling and security service companies, as well as for the travelers themselves. In this paper we evaluate the key causes for, and economic effects of the recorded irregularities for the passengers and airlines. As a first step, literature on the economic impact of delays in air transport is analyzed. In a second step, available data is used to quantify the delay situation in the summer period of 2022 for selected flight routes and airports. After this, the value of time damage is estimated for flight passengers based on the selected flights. This is complemented by a delay cost estimation for the airlines serving the affected airports. The paper closes with recommendations for improvement.