Lack of controllers, strikes and major sporting events: tourism in Europe will face a difficult time in 2024

Travel in 2024 is also expected to be a record year, but Europe's favorite destinations are likely to be somewhat overshadowed.

The head of Hungarian airline Wizz Air said that delays due to a shortage of air traffic controllers will continue until the summer of 2024. Marion Joffroy, managing director of the airline in the UK, said: "We know for certain that we will not be able to avoid increasing delays in July and August," Fodors writes.

France is hosting the Olympic Games this year, and Germany is hosting the Euro 2024 soccer championship. In addition, the trend of revenge travel is not losing momentum, and Europe is experiencing significant additional pressure on its resources.

The growing demand is putting pressure on the aviation industry, which is still recovering from the pandemic. Labor shortages, union strikes, and nature-related delays dominated the aviation industry last year, causing significant disruption across the region.

There is a shortage of air traffic controllers (ATC) in Europe, with a deficit of 700-1000. France and Germany are the worst off, but overall it could take up to four years to reduce the shortage, Frederic Delaudet, executive vice president of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Associations (IFATCA), said last year.

The summer of 2023 was particularly challenging for the continent. According to data released by Eurocontrol, delays due to CRC strikes in 2023 were four times higher than in 2022. The report also showed that TAP, Pegasus, and Turkish Airlines had the worst punctuality performance.

The surge in demand crowded the skies and the closed airspace over Ukraine also limited airlines.

This year, things don't look much better so far.

If you're planning a trip to Europe, keep an eye out for events and plan ahead.

As TravelWise wrote, the annual inflation rate in the EU increased by 6.4% in June 2023. At the same time, the number of tourists has increased dramatically due to the lifting of travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic.