Germany reports more flights delays, cancellations in 2013

 In 2013, there were significantly more flights delays and cancellations at German airports than in 2012, German local media reported on Monday.
According to the statistics, at the five largest airports in Germany, a total of 28,115 flights were cancelled or had a delay of more than three hours in 2013, affecting 4.8 million people.
This was an increase of 12 percent compared to 2012, said German Saarbruecken newspaper.
However, the number of occurrences that were eligible for compensation declined by 10 percent in 2013 compared to 2012.
Still almost two million passengers can claim compensation, but many didn't do it because of the complicated process, said the newspaper.
A crucial factor for the increased delays and cancellations was the bad weather, according to the newspaper.
Freezing rain in January and onset of winter in March had led to disturbance in air traffic in Germany, as 11,879 of these cases were registered in the first three months of 2013.
Meanwhile, the pilot strike at Lufthansa in April also added more disturbances with 5,055 incidents, including more than 4,000 flights cancellations.