Who hasn't experienced a flight delay or cancellation? In France, delayed or cancelled flights are not uncommon. That's why Flightright, the market leader in air passenger rights, has taken a close look at the issue, and this Thursday, November 9, 2023 unveiled a ranking of Europe's most delayed airports.
Bad news for French airports, as four of them feature at the top of the ranking. " With four of the six European airports recording the highest number of cancellations since the beginning of 2023, with delays of at least 15 minutes, France tops the ranking " reveals Flightright, which points out thatOrly airport is the French airport with the highest number of flight cancellations and delays.
Located to the south of Paris, and soon to be accessible by metro thanks to the extension of line 14, Orly airport " had the highest number of flight cancellations and delays in 2023 ", says Flightright. In all, 2,103 cancellations (2.5%) and 14,558 delays (17.29%) were recorded.
In second place in terms of flight cancellations was Toulouse-Blagnac, with 632 flight cancellations (2.38%) and 4,960 flight delays (18.70%), followed by Lyon-Saint-Exupéry with 768 flight cancellations (2.25%) and 7,681 flight delays (22.54%), and Marseille-Provence with 797 flight cancellations (2.22%) and 6,794 flight delays (18.92%).
What about France's busiest airport? Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport ranks fifth in terms of cancellations, with 2,096 cancelled flights in 2023 (1.24%) and 57,537 delayed flights (34.09%).
According to Flightright, the company behind the study, several factors explain the poor ranking of French airports, including " air traffic congestion ", " labor shortages " and " the saturation of certain key airport hubs, such as Paris Orly and Roissy Charles de Gaulle ". Another reason given? France's geographical location. The country lies at the crossroads of numerous air routes, complicating logistics.
