The ongoing strike by French air traffic controllers, prompted by union concerns over working conditions, has led to significant disruptions in air travel, particularly affecting Ryanair and thousands of vacationers. The airline's demands for urgent intervention highlight the severe impact of industrial action on European travelers.
Ryanair Stranded: 30,000 Passengers Affected by French Air Traffic Control Strike
Ryanair Stranded: 30,000 Passengers Affected by French Air Traffic Control Strike
A French air traffic control strike has forced Ryanair to cancel over 170 flights, disrupting the travel plans of thousands as tensions rise over labor conditions.
A strike by two French unions representing air traffic controllers has resulted in the cancellation of over 170 Ryanair flights, impacting more than 30,000 passengers on Thursday and Friday. This industrial action, part of a two-day protest over working conditions, not only disrupts routes to and from France but also affects numerous flights transiting French airspace to destinations like the UK, Ireland, Spain, and Greece.
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot criticized the unions for their demands and for choosing this peak travel period to strike, calling their actions "unacceptable." Ryanair's Chief Executive Michael O'Leary echoed these sentiments, accusing the controllers of unjustly inconveniencing European families and demanding that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ensure minimum flight service levels during such disputes.
The strike has resulted in a significant reduction in flights, with Paris airports experiencing about a quarter of flights cancelled and Nice airport facing nearly half of its scheduled flights being affected. As the situation worsens, the DGAC, France's civil aviation authority, has requested that airlines minimize their flight schedules across the nation, with a grim forecast suggesting a 40% drop in flights from major Paris airports on Friday.
The strike was initiated by the UNSA-ICNA union due to concerns about staffing shortages, management issues, and a proposed clock-in system for controllers. Unable to reach a resolution during talks earlier this week, the unions chose to proceed with their planned action, which has been criticized by Airlines for Europe (A4E) as "intolerable," especially during the busy holiday season. EasyJet, another carrier caught in the turmoil, has expressed disappointment and called for a quick resolution to the dispute.
Despite the extensive cancellations, Ryanair reported that it still managed to operate over 109,000 flights in June, revealing that less than 1% of its total flights were affected last month, although the ongoing conflict in the Middle East also resulted in over 800 additional flight cancellations.
