New data from German passenger rights organisation Flightright has revealed that the three worst European airports for flight disruptions during the summer of 2024 were all in Germany.

Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich are worst airports for cancellations

Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, Frankfurt and Munich have been named as the top three worst European airports for delays and cancellations during the summer of 2024. After Zurich Airport, Düsseldorf also followed as the fifth worst on the continent.

Of the 21.168 flights in and out of Berlin from June 20 to September 4, 2024, 637 were cancelled and 6.067 were delayed. 

In Frankfurt, 1.475 were cancelled and 18.086 of the 58.427 flights were delayed and in Munich 1.068 were cancelled and 19.396 were delayed of the 42.920 scheduled.

The study put disruptions at German airports down to “significant challenges” like shortages of staff and strike action. 

But summer at German airports was relatively tame when it came to strikes, with pilots and cabin crew at Lufthansa subsidiary Discover being one of the few groups to strike during the holidays.

Widespread strike action during summer 2024 was avoided in April when airport operators agreed to a pay deal demanded by ver.di on behalf of security staff.

In grand contrast to Flightright’s assessment, Berlin-Brandenburg Airport was as recently as June ranked Europe’s best airport by a UK-based travel portal. Munich and Hamburg also took second and fourth place, with all three German airports being praised for punctuality.

Switzerland is the worst European country for flight delays

According to Flightright, not just Germany but the entire DACH region was the problem child of Europe when it came to cancellations and delays this summer.

Between June 20 and September 4 this year, of the 49.000 flights that landed in Switzerland, 19.000 were classed as late - meaning they landed with a delay of 15 minutes or more.

With 38,78 percent of flights arriving behind schedule, this makes Switzerland the worst country in Europe for delays, just ahead of Greece (36,97 percent) and Turkey (36,52). 

In addition, 2,5 percent of flights to Switzerland were cancelled during the period, the worst rate on the continent ahead of Germany (2,4 percent) and Austria (1,46 percent).

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