The recent air traffic control strike in France has forced Ryanair to cancel significant numbers of flights, impacting 30,000 passengers and creating widespread travel disruptions across Europe.
Ryanair Faces Major Disruptions: 30,000 Passengers Grounded by French Strike
Ryanair Faces Major Disruptions: 30,000 Passengers Grounded by French Strike
French air traffic control strike leads to Ryanair cancelling over 170 flights, affecting thousands of travelers.
The ongoing strike by French air traffic controllers has severely affected tens of thousands of travelers this Thursday and Friday, forcing budget airline Ryanair to cancel over 170 flights. This labor action stems from two French unions protesting working conditions, resulting in a substantial quarter of flights being cancelled at Paris’ main airports and half at Nice airport.
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot criticized both the unions’ demands and their decision to strike during a peak travel period. Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, expressed deep frustration over the situation, censureing air traffic controllers for "holding European families to ransom" and pressing for immediate European Commission intervention to safeguard flight operations amid such strikes.
The effects of the strike extend beyond flights to and from France, impacting routes over French airspace to various European destinations such as the UK, Ireland, Spain, and Greece. France's civil aviation authority, DGAC, has instructed airlines to limit their flight schedules across multiple airports, and further disruptions are anticipated, with an expected 40% reduction in flights planned for Paris’s Charles de Gaulle, Orly, and Beauvais airports on Friday.
The unrest was initiated by the UNSA-ICNA union, raising concerns over staffing shortages, management disputes, and a proposed contentious clock-in system for air traffic controllers. Negotiations with the DGAC earlier in the week failed to resolve the situation, with the Airlines for Europe (A4E) body condemning the strike as "intolerable," foreseeing significant complications for travel during the busy holiday season.
Ryanair also noted that the recent geopolitical conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, had already led to the cancellation of over 800 flights last month. Nevertheless, the airline reported low overall disruptions, successfully operating over 109,000 flights in June, indicating that less than 1% were affected by these recent cancelations.
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot criticized both the unions’ demands and their decision to strike during a peak travel period. Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, expressed deep frustration over the situation, censureing air traffic controllers for "holding European families to ransom" and pressing for immediate European Commission intervention to safeguard flight operations amid such strikes.
The effects of the strike extend beyond flights to and from France, impacting routes over French airspace to various European destinations such as the UK, Ireland, Spain, and Greece. France's civil aviation authority, DGAC, has instructed airlines to limit their flight schedules across multiple airports, and further disruptions are anticipated, with an expected 40% reduction in flights planned for Paris’s Charles de Gaulle, Orly, and Beauvais airports on Friday.
The unrest was initiated by the UNSA-ICNA union, raising concerns over staffing shortages, management disputes, and a proposed contentious clock-in system for air traffic controllers. Negotiations with the DGAC earlier in the week failed to resolve the situation, with the Airlines for Europe (A4E) body condemning the strike as "intolerable," foreseeing significant complications for travel during the busy holiday season.
Ryanair also noted that the recent geopolitical conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, had already led to the cancellation of over 800 flights last month. Nevertheless, the airline reported low overall disruptions, successfully operating over 109,000 flights in June, indicating that less than 1% were affected by these recent cancelations.
