Demand for flights has fallen significantly among some of Europe’s largest airlines, following widespread disruption at airports.
Bookings made in the first week of July for flights within Europe during July and August were 44% below 2019 levels, according to data specialist ForwardKeys, reported the Financial Times.
The report said the decline is a “marked shift” from the last week in May, when bookings for July and August were close to tracking 2019 levels.
The figures come from an industry-wide ticketing database and includes all major national carriers such as Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France.
But it does not have sales from low-cost carriers such as Ryanair or easyJet, which have reported some of the strongest demand this summer, added the FT.
Olivier Ponti, ForwardKeys’ insight vice-president, said the increased level of disruption is “substantially dampening demand” as it is seeing “a dramatic slowdown in last-minute flight bookings” plus an increase in cancellations.