During the high summer tourist season, flight delays are the most likely – and it’s not just weather or strikes – said Boeing 787 Dreamliner pilot Charlie Page The Points Guy. According to him, the highest demand for flights leads to the fact that problems inevitably arise due to the heavy load on the entire infrastructure.
“Problems with air traffic control, missed slots for landing and delays in the” circulation “of aircraft can affect the flight time,” – said the expert. He then named the following problems:
- Technical issues. Any malfunction on the plane leads to delays, but airlines have procedures to try to reduce their likelihood. One of them is the list of minimum equipment (MEL). “All aircraft have an MEL, and everything on the list must be present for the aircraft to take off. For example, the Boeing Dreamliner has eight wheels with eight brakes, but the plane can take off if at least six of them are working. The crew will need to be notified of the problem, and all broken brakes will need to be repaired the next time they come in for maintenance. If there are too many problems, the controllers can decide to ground the plane, “the expert said.
- Staff hours. Pilots and flight attendants are allowed to work only a certain number of hours, then by law they are obliged to provide rest. In Europe, this is 2,000 hours in 12 months or 60 hours in seven days, and of course there is a limit to the number of hours a crew can work per day. “If a team runs out of time – even if it’s due to other delays – they have to stop working. In some cases, this may mean a longer delay than usual because you need to find a new team. It may even lead to cancellation if a new crew is not found in time, “said the pilot.
- “Turnover” of aircraft. The more tourists travel in the summer months, the higher the demand for aircraft. As a result, air carriers have very tight turnover schedules – ie. the time spent on the round trip to ensure that a sufficient number of aircraft arrive at the right destinations at the right time. But if there is a delay on one flight, it can affect the rest of the routes of this aircraft, causing a delay of subsequent regular flights. In Russia, we note, this “special effect” has repeatedly occurred in charter companies, when the delay of one flight due to technical problems led to mass delays.
- Missing slots. Aircraft have certain time intervals at airports that determine when they are allowed to take off or land – all organized by the Air Traffic Control Service. If the liner misses “its” slot for some reason, you will have to wait for the next available slot, which can obviously mean delays if it is a busy day at the airport. “During the summer months and busy days, air traffic control staff are under more pressure than usual to take off on time. For the same reason, the crew prefers to seat passengers, even if there is a long delay before departure, so that they can be ready to depart at any moment, “said the pilot.