Bird strike risks exacerbating Transavia fleet problems

Problems continue to plague Transavia's airline fleet. On Thursday, a bird crashed into the engine of one of their aircraft scheduled to fly from Rotterdam to Ibiza. The plane is now undergoing an extensive safety inspection, which may further strain the already limited capacity. Due to a shortage of aircraft, Transavia has canceled a high number of flights this month, affecting thousands of passengers.

"The bird went right through the engine. The aircraft is being checked now and it could have an impact," a spokesperson said. "We're increasing backup capacity for situations like this. Usually, there's an extra plane available, but that's not the case at the moment." NH Nieuws reported that the emergency landing occurred during the two-minute silence observed across the country at 8 pm for Remembrance Day.

These cancellations come on top of the 54 flights Transavia canceled from this week until the end of May. That equates to more than 10,000 seats. It remains unclear how many travelers will be affected, as Transavia has not disclosed the occupancy of the canceled flights for competitive reasons. The May holidays are among the busiest weeks for the airline, and NOS previously estimated that 15,000 passengers were affected last week. Flights in the coming summer months may also be at risk of being canceled.

Transavia is currently missing eight aircraft. Three leased planes experienced significant delays. In addition, the KLM subsidiary has a shortage of aircraft and is therefore unable to carry out all booked trips. The airline is missing three aircraft due to collisions, one has lightning damage and another is undergoing maintenance.

Travel operators are very busy due to this wave of cancellations. For package holidays, tour operators have to arrange suitable accommodations or alternative trips. "I haven't seen an airline unable to use so many aircraft before. But as a tour operator, you must always be flexible,” a TUI spokesperson said.

Prijsvrij and D-Reizen are also managing cancellations, although Prijsvrij CEO Marc van Deursen noted that Transavia seems to provide slightly longer advance notice for cancellations, with simplifies the rebooking process. However, he said that recovering extra costs from Transavia does not always happen “without a fight.” Van Deursen explained that his company is still awaiting payments from the coronavirus period. This left him with “mixed feelings."