European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 15, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                1agazine a phobia Pymn Kertels poem a Long line As hey await clearance for Takeoff. Delays an becoming More frequent during Peak travel season. Friendly skies growing crowded by Steven greenhouse new York times in traffic across lha North Atlantic will jump to record Levels this summer increasing strains on air control systems and aggravating High delays in Europe and North America Industry officials say. The officials said they anticipated an increase of 10 percent to 12 percent in trans Atlantic flights and they said he Rise would Lead to delays of 30 minutes to 90 min Ulm Tor trans Atlantic passengers. They also said the increase would make in More difficult to Book lights particularly during the Peak travel period o july 15 to aug. 15. Safety hazards Are not expected 1o increase the officials said. The airways Are extremely congested on the North Atlantic Roule said Hertert Lenninger he director of operations for pan american world airways at Frankfurt s huge International Airport. This is the worst it s Ever  As he peered out his window overlooking seven jets from Throe airlines parked at various Gates Lenninger said Many flights trom Europe to new York were delayed because air traffic controllers in England of ten report thai All the slots on the regular flight paths Between the continents Are hied. There Are several explanations for the record Frallic. The weak Dollar is expected to Spur a Large increase Over last year in the number of europeans visiting the United states. Last year s local was up 26percent Over the lot Al reached in 1985. There s undoubtedly been a move downwards into the mass Market said Mike Ward the managing director of Pound Stretcher which runs Tours to the United states for British airways. America has become More obtainable Lor More people Tyfian Ever  at the same Lime american tourism to Europe is slowly bounding Back As tears of terrorism and chernobyl recede and As americans recover from the Shock of the sluggish Dollar. Tourism officials expect More americans Lovist Europe this year than in 1987. But the officials doubt travel will exceed lha record set in 1935, when Europe was a bargain because the Dollar had climbed to record Levels. The British tourist authority estimates that the number of american visitors will climb by 2 percent to 3 percent this year. About 3.4 million americans visited Britain last year compared with 2.8 million in 1986 and a record 3.b million in 1985. One result of this year s unexpectedly Large surge in traffic is that Many planes bound or the United slates avoid congested Southern England by taking a longer route Over the North sea adding almost a half hour 1o some lights. Officials at the Geneva based International air transport association said that for the first four months of this year trans Atlantic air traffic was up a startling 17 percent Over lha same period last year. We expect traffic in the Peak summer season to be at least 10 percent above last summer and that was n record period said David Kyd. The spokesman for the association. Complicating matters for Iran Atlantic travellers is that air travel within Europe has soared far beyond previous Levels As a result of european deregulation which makes it far easier for airlines to add lights without bureaucratic delays. Europeans now loudly complain and the statistics Bear them out that delays and congestion have never been so bad. It s a major problem said Klaus Ulrich Muller an official with Lufthansa German airlines at the fran Lurl Airport. It s not just a trans Atlantic problem. It s a european  Ferruccio Pavolini Tho director of operations for a italia airlines added we have difficult times ahead this summer. Delays and cancellations will be  like Many europeans these officials Are frustrated and a bit embarrassed that the on time performances of some european airports Are Starling to become As bad or even worse than that of american airports. At Frankfurt Airport Europe s second busiest after Heathrow More than 30 percent of arrivals and departures Are delayed by More than 30 minutes after eight or so hours of flying from the United states Many Frankfurt bound flights Are put in holding patterns for up to 45 minutes because of runway congestion. A few of these planes Are forced to land at the underused Cologne Airport when they run Low on fuel. Frankfurt is one o Europe s major hubs and Many travellers prefer to use the Airport because it is easier to make connections there. We have had occasional delays before but never to this extant said Lenninger the pan am official. There is no indication that this will improve in the near  like Many other airline officials he said Europe needs a centralized air traffic control Agency to help reduce the Lack of coordination Between countries. Last year 25,841,000 passengers flew Over 1he North Atlantic up 23 Porcell from 1986. Some aviation experts predict thai the total this year will jump by More than 3 million exceeding 29 million. In july 1987, the busiest month of that year there were 450 Iran Atlantic flights a Day. Many officials predict that the number will exceed 500 a Day this july. Greater Competition and new Points of arrival and departure also Are creating More traffic. Delta airlines recently has added flights Between Orlando Fla. And Frankfurt while american airlines now has lights Between Dallas fort world and Madrid and Between Raleigh Durham and Paris. Indeed american will Havo 100 Iran Allan tic flights a week this summer up from 75 last summer. What s creating congestion in Europe is overcrowded airports and an inadequate air control system said Stephen Mcgregor an american airlines spokesman. As much As people complain about the american air control system the european system is far  Many european officials agree since airlines began their summer schedules two weeks ago. Many european airports including Rome Milan and Munich have been thrown into crisis. On May 26, Munich Airport cancelled 23 flights because of congestion in the air and on its single runway Joachim Lischka the chairman of the West German civil aviation authority said a major problem affecting trans Atlantic and Infra european flights is the Lack of coordination among air controllers. Some of the european countries Are so Small Hal a flight goes Over them in just live or six minutes and then that country s air controllers have to hand Over the flight to the next country s controllers he said. What we need is a Central european authority to create a More efficient less fragmented  aviation authorities say Spain Nlaly Germany and the Benelux nations Are Europe s most congested areas along with Southern England. Depending on weather conditions there Are five to eight Light paths Between Europe and North America and planes Are usually spread out about six minutes apart. In theory there should not be stalling problems if All the flights Are ready to leave on Lime. But delays on Intra european flights often cause delays on intercontinental flights thus causing clusters of flights at the same time. This creates the slotting problems. British air controllers who with their Irish counterparts have responsibility Tor the Eastern North Atlantic often Tell their German counterparts that they can Only accept nine flights bound for North America per hour first come first served. If there Are More North american bound flights than that the controllers either Wail until slots open or choose a flight path car to the Norih. Another big reason for delays is the Lack of runways and airline gales. Frankfurt and Munich have been lighting environmentalists for More than a decade on the Issue of additional runways. We need Mars Slot said Manfred Schalch a director of the Frankfurt Airport authority. There Are capacity problems that have to be  the authority is building an $800 million terminal that will increase the number of Gates from 54 to 84 by 1993. It May need to expand sooner than that because the . Travel and tourism administration estimates that 1.2 million germans will visit the United states this year almost double the 669.845 who visited in 1986. Already last May some european travellers were having problems obtaining seals Lor Peak periods in july and August. We can still find seals on planes but we do have difficulties especially in  said Helmut woh an official with her Germany s largest travel Agency. Travel officials say that Many americans thinking that travel to Europe will be sluggish this summer because of lha weak Dollar May find it harder than they expected to Book seals this is because of the surprisingly Large number of europeans Raveling to the United Stales. There Are rumours that some european airlines Are setting aside most of heir seals for european travellers because they want to be paid in hard currencies like the German Mark rather than weak ones like the Dollar which some economists say will grow weaker. European airline officials deny this we re Happy to take All customers no matter whal currency they have said Penlon Spring an air France spokesman. Wednesday june 15, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 13