Arlanda, which is run by state-owned operator Swedavia, has seen extensive queuing and delays throughout the summer.

Staff shortages and a major pilots’ strike by Scandinavian airline SAS, resolved earlier this month, are among major factors to have caused disruption at Arlanda.

The 10,000 cancellations were described as a “weak number” by Norwegian aviation expert Hans Jørgen Elnäs in comments to Sveriges Radio’s news programme Ekot, which reported the figure.

New statistics from Eurocontrol, the European organisation which controls Europe’s air space, show that four in ten flights out of Arlanda in June and July were either delayed or cancelled, news wire TT reports.

That represents a total of more than 10,000 flights.

“This is not a good number, but Arlanda does have some excuse in the form of the airport being affected by other airlines also having delays [elsewhere] in Europe. But overall, it’s a weak number from Arlanda,” Elnäs told Sveriges Radio.

The data also show that 35 percent of flights were at least 15 minutes late in June, with 6 percent cancelled. Those numbers were higher still in July, TT writes.

A good figure for delays would be around 90 percent punctuality and 10 percent delayed, according to Elnäs.

Delays at airports across Europe are closely connected to the poor record at Arlanda over the summer, Swedavia head of media communications Robert Pletzin told TT in a written comment.

“This year we have had an extra impact on and increase in delays from the many airports which have had challenges with staff shortages and other disruptions,” Pletzin said.

“The most common cause of delays at Arlanda is indeed delays resultant from late incoming flights which in turn lead to delays for departing flights,” he said.

Comparable figures for delays can be seen at major airports in Norway and Denmark.

In the rest of Europe, average delays in June were just over 24 minutes according to Eurocontrol. Closed airspace over Russia and Belarus, air traffic control strikes in France and weather-related problems including thunderstorms in Germany were among factors causing delays, the organisation said.

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