A two-day strike by French air traffic controllers has led to significant flight cancellations affecting over 30,000 passengers, as Ryanair and other airlines scramble to manage the fallout during a peak travel season.
Ryanair Faces Massive Flight Cancellations Amid French Air Traffic Control Strike
Ryanair Faces Massive Flight Cancellations Amid French Air Traffic Control Strike
Over 30,000 travelers impacted as strike disrupts travel plans across Europe.
Tens of thousands of travelers' plans have been thrown into disarray due to a French air traffic control strike that has resulted in the cancellation of numerous flights across Europe. Ryanair, a budget airline heavily impacted by the industrial action, reported that more than 170 flights had been cancelled, disrupting travel for over 30,000 passengers.
The strike, organized by two French unions, aimed to address grievances over working conditions and was timed to coincide with a busy holiday period. Major airports in Paris experienced a cancellation rate of one-quarter of their scheduled flights, while the Nice airport faced even greater disruptions, with half of its flights being cancelled.
Philippe Tabarot, France’s Transport Minister, has condemned the strike, labeling the unions' demands as unreasonable and criticizing their decision to disrupt travel during a peak holiday season. The cancellations not only affected flights originating from or arriving in France but also impacted flights navigating through French airspace to several countries, including the UK, Ireland, Spain, and Greece.
Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O'Leary, expressed frustration, stating that the air traffic controllers were unfairly "holding European families to ransom." He urged European authorities, particularly European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to take immediate steps to ensure minimum service levels during such strikes to protect trans-European flights from local industrial action.
The French civil aviation authority (DGAC) had previously instructed airlines to reduce their flight schedules in anticipation of the strike, which is expected to lead to further disruptions on Friday, with a forecasted reduction of 40% in flights from major Paris airports including Charles de Gaulle, Orly, and Beauvais.
The strike was initiated by the UNSA-ICNA union, citing issues like staffing shortages, management conflicts, and the introduction of a controversial new clock-in system for controllers. Attempts to negotiate with the DGAC earlier in the week did not yield a resolution.
Airlines for Europe (A4E), which represents the continent's main aviation interests, labeled the strike as "intolerable," warning that it comes at the worst possible time for holiday travel. EasyJet, another airline facing similar disruptions, expressed frustration and called for a swift resolution to the ongoing labor conflict. Despite facing cancellations, Ryanair noted that it still successfully operated more than 109,000 flights in June.
