Vueling takes on extra staff and pledges 'business as usual' for August
Monday, July 18, 2016 @ 5:15 PM
LOW-COST airline Vueling has improved flight punctuality and says it does not envisage any cancellations in August, following a chaotic July with up to 40 flights a day grounded and passengers left stranded.
No flights have been cancelled or rescheduled in the last week, and the first weekend in August - which sees more movement than any other weekend of the year as tourists flock to Spain's coastal areas - is expected to run like clockwork.
Secretary of infrastructure and transport for the regional government of Catalunya - where Vueling is based - Ricard Font says Vueling's punctuality has increased from 80% to 83% in the last week, taking into account the half-hour margin always added onto programmed flight times; 95% take off and land within an hour of their schedule and 100% within three hours.
A extra plane and 37 additional crew members have been drafted in, plus 250 ground staff, to cope with the increase in demand over the summer.
An average of 740 flights are expected to take off daily.
However, Vueling has warned that some flights may suffer delays and even cancellations on Saturday - an issue affecting all airlines, due to an air-traffic controller strike in Italy.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com