Tens of thousands of passengers have been hit by French air traffic control attacks that cancelled flights in France on Thursday and Friday, bringing knock-on effects elsewhere in Europe.
Budget airline Ryanair said it was forced to cancel more than 170 flights, disrupting holiday plans for more than 30,000 passengers.
Two French unions took a two-day strike on working conditions, with a quarter of flights cancelled in half of Paris’s major and Nice airport flights.
French Transport Minister Philip Tabarott accused both the union of demands and their decision to strike at such a critical time for those who go on holiday.
Ryanair said the strike had an impact on flights to and from France, as well as flying over French airspace to destinations such as the UK, Ireland, Spain and Greece.
Its chief executive Michael O’Leary accused air traffic controller of “ransoming European families.”
“That makes no sense and is abundantly unfair for EU passengers to go on holidays,” he complained, calling on European Commission President Ursula von Leyen to take “emergency action” to ensure minimal service levels during strikes and to protect flights passing through French airspace from domestic industrial action.
The French Civil Aviation Authority DGAC has asked airlines to cut flight schedules at several airports across the country.
Confusion is expected to worsen at French airports on Friday, with flights from the Paris airports in Charles de Gaulle, Aura and Beauweis to 40% less.
The strike was invoked by Unsa-Icna Union, citing the planned introduction of a controversial clock system for the controller amidst staff shortages, management issues and concerns. A discussion with the DGAC earlier this week failed to resolve the conflict.
European airlines (A4E), the main aviation group on the continent, have described the strike as “unbearable” and warned that it will significantly disrupt travel plans during the holiday season.
Another low-cost carrier affected by the disruption, EasyJet expressed “deep disappointment” and urged a resolution.
Ryanair said Wednesday that it also suffered a recent conflict in the Middle East, cancelling more than 800 flights last month.
Despite the cancellations, the airline operates more than 109,000 flights in June, indicating that less than 1% of flights were affected.
