Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, launched today (Friday, October 3) a new fierce attack on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – whom it mockingly called “von Derlayed-Again” – calling on her to either proceed with immediate reform of air traffic control (ATC) services or resign.
The intervention comes after Ryanair published its “ATC Delays League” for September, according to which France, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and Greece recorded the most flight delays and cancellations, due to a lack of adequate staffing and mismanagement of national ATC services.
In contrast, countries such as Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark are presented as positive examples, offering efficient services without significant staff shortages, which results in minimal delays.
According to the company’s data, more than 30 million passengers in the EU have been affected in 2025 alone. Ryanair is asking the Commission to take two measures:
Mandatory full staffing of ATC services during the first wave of morning flights, with fines imposed in cases of violation.
Overflight protection in the event of national air traffic controller strikes to safeguard the single European air transport market.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said:
“It is unacceptable that Europe’s worst performing ATCs – France, Spain, Germany, the UK and Greece – continue to impose millions of delays and cancellations on passengers. If Ursula von der Leyen cannot deliver the necessary reforms, then she should step aside and let someone more capable take over.”
The data for 2025 (January 1 – September 29):
Worst ATC performance:
- France: 57,109 flights delayed (10,279,620 passengers affected)
- Spain: 34,145 flights (6,146,100 passengers)
- Germany: 16,132 flights (2,903,760 passengers)
- United Kingdom: 7,429 flights (1,337,220 passengers)
- Greece: 6,738 flights (1,212,840 passengers)
Best ATC performance:
- Bulgaria: 112 flights (20,160 passengers)
- Slovakia: 460 flights (82,800 passengers)
- Netherlands: 533 flights (95,940 passengers)
- Belgium: 578 flights (104,040 passengers)
- Denmark: 701 flights (126,180 passengers)
