Transatlantic air traffic has almost returned to pre-coronavirus levels, according to figures released Friday by Sirium, a company specializing in aviation data.
In May, a total of 4,414 transatlantic flights will be operated between the United Kingdom and the United States. In May 2019, the year before the outbreak, that number was even slightly higher: 4,456 flights.
The number of transatlantic flights increased by 22 percent last year. This is expected to increase further, as foreigners landing in the US from Friday will no longer be required to provide Covid vaccination data.
With the growth of air transport, there is also the risk of shortage of aircraft. Aircraft manufacturers are struggling to meet current demand.
Airbus and Boeing currently have order books that are filling through 2030 and beyond. Ryanair has received orders from Air India for at least seven hundred new aircraft.
Transvia and KLM
Dutch airlines are also feeling the shortage of flights. Transvia has very little capacity for the busy spring season due to late arrivals of leased aircraft and necessary repairs. As a result, the KLM subsidiary had to cancel the flight of thousands of passengers. The airline will announce this week how many flights will not take off in June.
KLM announced on Thursday that it will also cancel the KLM Cityhopper flights, which only fly within Europe, in a few months.
Inexpensive Vacations and D-Reizen, which are part of the same company, also note that many people are “devastated” by the problems with Transavia and want to rebook. Capacity issues affected 156 bookings at travel agencies. With 98 bookings, for a total of 256 people, the holiday was cancelled. (AP/Reuters)
A version of this article appeared in the May 13, 2023 issue of the newspaper.
