On July 29, passengers waiting to fly to the United States on Delta Air Lines Flight 297 from Athens, Greece, were told the plane couldn't take off as scheduled.
As temperatures closed in on 100 degrees Fahrenheit at the airport, Delta's pilots informed ticket holders that the plane was too heavy to take off safely in the heat.
The airline asked for volunteers to reschedule their flights, but there weren't enough takers. Not until Delta increased its offer to vouchers worth $1,000 each did enough people finally volunteer to stay behind so that the aircraft could take off.
Even then, and after a 2-hour delay on the tarmac, Delta Flight 297 left without its checked luggage. Bags were intentionally left behind to decrease the weight. Passengers who decided to remain on board didn't receive their baggage a day or two after they landed in Atlanta, and they only got $80 vouchers for their trouble.
The situation on that Delta flight was not even unusual these days.
In the summertime, more and more European airlines are being forced to take off without their luggage. In Europe's recent summers, airlines flying everywhere from Tuscany to Singapore have been forced to offload baggage to contend with operational roadblocks presented by summer temperatures and seasonal winds.
The issues can arise whenever temperatures soar in southern Europe, particularly in the months of July and August. But even airports in the United Kingdom, in northern Europe, have been reporting an increase in heat-related baggage delivery delays. On July 18, Ryanair passengers landed on Gran Canaria, Spain, from England without any of their bags, a failure blamed on "time constraints."
And baggage delivery isn't the only travel-related service to whimper in failure during the dog days of summer in Europe. You might find major attractions are closed on the day you're scheduled to visit.
Major European attractions closing abruptly in summer
Northern Europe experienced a mostly mild July 2025, but the situation was much worse in Southern Europe. Twice in two weeks in July, authorities in Athens had to partially close the iconic ruins of the Acropolis to all visitors because of extreme conditions that pushed temperatures well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius).
The same situation happened in the summer of 2024.
The Acropolis, which sits on an exposed hilltop in central Athens, can be physically demanding to visit even on a mild day, but when heat soars, the hike to the ruins is considered a particular threat to health.
Summer-specific tourism restrictions are becoming widespread in Europe, and they go far beyond the requirement to make advance reservations for many of the world-class attractions you fly there to see.
In June, unmanageable peak-season crowds forced the unplanned closure of the famed Louvre museum in Paris.
And in early July, extreme heat caused the metal structure of the Eiffel Tower to expand and tilt slightly, forcing a temporary closure of the top level for safety reasons.
In France, Spain, Portugal, the Greek Islands, and Turkey, deadly summer wildfires are running loose. The French prime minister has called the fires currently sweeping the south of France—now burning an area the size of Paris itself—a "catastrophe on an unprecedented scale."
In Italy, there have been recent blackouts as the electrical grid failed to keep up with summer demand.
Summer in Europe can be excruciating for North Americans accustomed to air conditioning in every room and ice in every glass. But Europe's infrastructure simply wasn't built with extreme temperatures in mind.
In London, where most of the carriages on the Underground don't have air conditioning—neither, for that matter, do most of the hotels and vacation rentals—temperatures in the breezeless confines of the Tube can routinely hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius).
Heat on London's transport system has become such a widespread problem that the Underground now posts warning signs informing passengers to bring drinking water and to take a seat immediately if they feel faint.
Rethinking the appeal of a summer in Europe
We love travel in Europe. You could spend a lifetime exploring it and still need more time.
But traveling in summer in Europe is not what it used to be—it's much worse.
You can argue among yourselves about why weather is getting more extreme, but the data and the increase in summer-related travel disruptions are clear.
It's all enough to make you wonder why travelers still think it's a good idea to go to Europe in the summertime.
Is it just out of a travel habit we learned when global weather was a different beast? If you're not traveling with children on their summer breaks, why put up with the increased costs in exchange for diminished travel expectations and heightened physical discomfort?
After all, airfares are at their highest in summer—in 2025, it wouldn't be uncommon to pay $1,300 to $1,500 for a round-trip ticket from North America to Europe in economy class. You'd easily pay half that in the cooler months. Hotel prices climb skyward, too, because many Europeans take their own vacations in the summer months.
But why pay peak-season prices for airfare and hotels and still not be able to see the sights you came to see? Your airline may also not be able to cope with the weather, and you might be separated from your luggage for days at a time.
Europe is buckling under the realities of modern summer heat and crowds.
Maybe it's time to do Europe a favor and visit in seasons that put less stress on the continent's systems. Look seriously at traveling to Europe at other times of year. Your wallet and your body may thank you.