European Airports & Airlines Meltdown

So far it's been a hot mess in the following European cities:

1. London
2. seemingly all of Germany 🥴
3. Amsterdam

And there are more that need to be added to this list, as many airlines and airports are short-staffed and struggling to meet demands. But these 3, in my opinion, seem to be the worst, causing travellers to panic as flights are cancelled and/or delayed for lengthy hours; they are shuffled throughout the system with rebookings and reroutes.

London

London is so overwhelmed with summer travelers that they have put into effect a daily limit of 100,000 departing passengers daily. This means flights have to be cancelled in order to decrease their passenger load, as well as extra travelers - like airline employees may be blocked from boarding flights to and from LHR.

Here's more information to read more on this: London & more London.

Germany

Germany -- Lufthansa, the major airline in Germany, had to cancel almost all of its flights leaving Frankfurt and Munich, two major hubs in Germany due to a workforce strike. Somewhere around 134,000 passengers were affected. For more info, click here.

Amsterdam

Operational issues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol are causing long waiting time, resulting in passengers missing their flights. Not to mention, KLM restricted passengers to hand luggages only after system malfunction. Amsterdam is one of Europe's large connecting hubs and like any other key hub, when sh* hits the fan there, it's a downhill domino effect. For more info, click here.

More On This & My Experience

From personal experience, LHR (London Heathrow) is my go-to connect airport; my first stop in Europe from the states before transferring onto a local flight or train to continue my European travels. There are plenty of flights a day from New York's JFK so this makes LHR an ideal airport to travel to.

However, as most of you may know, London is one of the most difficult airports to maneuver -- if you're not prepared -- in regards to the time it takes to get through customs & security, strict liquid requirements, and let's not forget the Queen's Tax long-haul air travelers have to pay upon departure back to the states (unless you connect from outside of England).

Side Note: If ever connecting through LHR - give yourself ample time, and then some, to get through security -- and follow the 3-1-1 rule or you will be pulled to the side. You do not want to be pulled to the side, unless you've got time and patience. When I tell you LHR employees take their time, believe me. They will NOT rush for you. They also do not appreciate people cutting the line, even if you got permission from your fellow travelers. Their mentality is: everyone has somewhere to go-you are not special. And if you chose not to adequately plan ahead, oh well. Deal with it, quietly and patiently or they seem to go at a sloth's pace--I kid you not LOL. Or maybe it feels super slow because when in a rush average seems hella below average and extremely slow motion. Just plan ahead if you must go to London.

In summary, if you have Europe plans that you cannot miss or just do not want to change, pack your patience, Traveling Unbothered hat, and give yourself and travel companions lots of wiggle room before the time for boarding so you can literally travel unbothered and stress-free.

On the other hand, if you are like me and do not want to be in the mess, look into pushing your Europe travel plans to a later date and/or inquiring about a refund from the airlines the ticket was purchased with.

Do you have Europe plans this summer? If so, where are you going?