We do have a bottleneck. Different policies from country to country governing the type of aircraft allowed at particular altitudes. Competition with the military for scarce airspace. The absence of a Europe-wide regulator. The 30-nation Eurocontrol agency in Brussels, which approves aircraft flight plans and manages the flow of air traffic, has no ability to compel aviation authorities to do anything.
Passengers pay extra, too.
And on the front lines of the travel wars, delays take their toll on the airlines' customer relations. The perception we give the passengers is really bad. Among aviation professionals, the persistent air woes are prompting finger-pointing and fraying tempers. Europe's airlines criticize Eurocontrol as a toothless talking shop. The airports gripe that the airlines try to shift responsibility for their own poor performance onto others.