French air traffic controllers staged the second day of a two-day strike on Friday, prompting the cancellation of hundreds of flights not just to-and-from France but also overflying the country as summer holidays kick off.

Paris airports risk being even more severely affected than on the first day of the strike on Thursday, which was called by two minority unions calling for better working conditions and staffing.

The timing of the strike is particularly acute with Friday the final day of school in France before the summer holidays, with many families planning an early getaway.

France’s DGAC aviation authority said 933 flights departing from or arriving at French airports were cancelled on Thursday, some 10 percent of the total number of flights initially scheduled. The proportion of cancellations rose to 25 percent at the main airports in Paris.

But on Friday the situation risks being even more severe with the DGAC asking companies to cancel 40 percent of flights to deal with the strike.

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou described the strike as “shocking”.

“Choosing the day when everyone goes on holiday to go on strike at air traffic control is taking the French hostage,” he told BFMTV.

The effects of the strike are not limited to France and the stoppage has triggered hundreds of cancellations of flights that fly over the country.

The European Airlines for Europe (A4E) association said 1,500 flights would be cancelled on Thursday and Friday in Europe, affecting 300,000 passengers.

“French air traffic control already delivers some of Europe’s worst delay figures and now the actions of a minority of French air traffic control workers will needlessly disrupt the holiday plans of thousands of people in France and across Europe,” said A4E chief Ourania Georgoutsakou.

The association said the strikes also caused “almost 500,000 minutes” in delays in Europe on Thursday on nearly 33,000 commercial flights.

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, said it had cancelled more than 400 flights.

“These strikes are unacceptable,” said Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, urging the EU Commission to protect such overflights by law in case of strikes.

“Of these 400 flight cancellations, 350 would not be cancelled if the EU protected overflights over France.”

At Paris airports, passengers stared at departure boards loaded with cancellations to assess their options.

“I came here on holiday to celebrate my wife’s 40th birthday, but now I’m stuck at Charles de Gaulle Airport,” said Julien Barthelemy, a passenger travelling to Marseille from New York, late Thursday.

“I’m currently on the waiting list for three flights and am waiting for a spot on the next one to become available.”

Hundreds of flights were cancelled on Thursday, with more expected to be scrapped on Friday, as French air-traffic controllers go on strike.

Air France, easyJet and Ryanair are some of the airlines caught up in the disruption, affecting operations from key European hubs, notably Charles de Gaulle in Paris.

Low-cost Irish carrier Ryanair was forced to cancel more than 400 flights over the two-day strike on Thursday and Friday, affecting about 70,000 passengers. Lobby group Airlines for Europe said as many as 300,000 travellers have or will face disruptions as a result of the strikes, with more than 1,500 flights already affected.

Air France said it has put plans in place to maintain its long-haul flight schedule.

More than 300,000 passengers are likely to be affected by the strikes. AFP

Flights from UAE carriers are currently on schedule. Etihad Airways, which has a direct route between Abu Dhabi and Paris, is operating as normal today, as is the Emirates flight from Dubai to the French capital.

Some regional airlines have been affected, however. Egyptiair cancelled flights MS801 and MS802 operating between Cairo and Paris on Friday.

“Due to an air-traffic controllers’ strike at Charles de Gaulle airport, which began on Thursday and is expected to continue for two days, the French Civil Aviation Authority has requested all airlines to cancel flights to and from the airport,” the airline said.

Airline bosses have criticised the strike. “Once again European families are held to ransom by French air-traffic controllers going on strike,” Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said.

The airline controllers’ union, UNSA-ICNA, blamed France’s civil aviation agency, DGAC, for its failures to modernise.

“The systems are on their last legs,” the union said.

The European strikes come just weeks after the closing of airspace across the Middle East in light of the Israel-Iran-US conflict. This led to major disruption as airlines had to cancel, reroute and even divert flights mid-air.

While flights have stabilised in most of the Middle East, some airlines have still suspended service to cities such as Beirut, Amman, Tehran and Tel Aviv.

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About 40% of flights were canceled Friday at all Paris airports and tens of thousands of passengers were rearranging plans at the height of the summer travel season because of a strike by French air traffic controllers seeking better working conditions.

Disruptions started hitting airports around France on Thursday and intensified Friday. The national civil aviation authority asked airlines to cancel 40% of flights Friday at Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Beauvais airports serving Paris, half of flights in Nice and 30% of flights in Marseille, Lyon and some other cities.

Despite the preventive cancelations, the authority warned in a statement that “disruptions and long delays are to be expected at all French airports.”

Ryanair was among airlines that announced widespread disruptions, saying in a statement it canceled more than 400 flights affecting 70,000 passengers. The company said the strike affects all its flights over French airspace, as well as traffic in and out of French airports, and urged the European Union to reform air traffic rules.

One of the two unions leading the strike, UNSA-ICNA, said in a statement there are not enough employees to handle surging air travel and that inflation is eating away at salaries. The unions also are protesting new reform measures aiming to more tightly monitor their work, prompted by a near-collision at the Bordeaux airport.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot called the union demands — and their decision to strike just as French schools close for the summer and many families head on vacation — “unacceptable.”

Ryanair has cancelled 400 flights affecting 70,000 passengers over the last two days due to a nationwide air traffic controller strike in France, the airline’s CEO said today.

Michael O’Leary described the strike as “recreational”, adding French unions are “struggling to find reasons to go out on strike”.

As of 7am, 14 flights scheduled to fly in/out of Dublin Airport today have been cancelled by airlines.

This follows the cancellation of 20 flights yesterday.

French civil aviation agency DGAC told airlines to cancel 40% of flights at the three main Paris airports today because of the strike, which the air traffic controllers say is over staff shortages and ageing equipment.

Up to half of flights at France’s other airports, mostly in the south, were also affected, DGAC added.

French transport minister Philippe Tabarot called the strike unacceptable. “The idea is to disturb as many people as possible,” he said in an interview with CNews.

Even with the cancellations, DGAC warned that passengers could be affected by delays and significant disruptions.

The Airlines for Europe (A4E) lobby group said last night that 1,500 flights had been cancelled over the two-day strike, affecting 300,000 passengers and causing cascading delays.

Passengers due to fly to or over mainland Europe today are advised to check directly with their airline for latest updates on the status of their flight.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said the “biggest issue” with the ATC strike is overflights.

He said that in most European countries, such as Spain and Italy and Greece, overflights are protected when there is an air traffic controller strike.

“In other words, the flights crossing over the country are protected and can operate,” he said.

Mr O’Leary said Ryanair and other airlines across Europe “have been calling on Ursula Von der Leyen, the President EU Commission, for about five years now to take steps to protect overflights”.

“They won’t stand up to the French and therefore every June, July, thousands of people and their families have their flights disrupted by a tiny number of French air traffic controllers,” he said.

“When the Brexit negotiations were going on Ursula Von der Leyen was telling everybody the single market is at the core of Europe,” he said.

“But when the French closed the sky and protect their local French flights, she sits by idly doing nothing while they cancel all the overflights,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ryanair is hopeful that commercial aircraft will be exempt from any US-EU tariffs as they would be so disruptive to complex supply chains, its CEO Michael O’Leary said.

“Commercial aircraft have always been exempt under previous tariffs. We think that’s likely to be restored even if there are tariffs applied,” Mr O’Leary, whose airline is Boeing’s largest customer in Europe, said today.

French air traffic controlloers holding countries to ranson – Jacobs

The chief executive of Dublin and Cork Airports operator daa has said that French air traffic controllers are holding other countries to ransom, which they do annually, with their strikes.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Kenny Jacobs said that in addition to the flights that have been cancelled, there will also be significant delays due to the strike.

“This is the annual ransom by a very small group of French air traffic controllers. About 50 air traffic controllers in Paris have disrupted the plans of over half a million European travellers on the big exodus where everyone goes on their holidays and it’s simply unacceptable,” he stated.

“It happens every year. They only strike on Fridays and it’s unacceptable. Europe needs to do something and it’s very unfair to the Irish families flying from Dublin to Faro wondering why they’re suffering a four-to-six-hour delay because they’re not going to France, but they’re flying over France,” he said.

“The key thing that Europe needs to do is say to the French, flights over France cannot be disrupted if you’re having a strike, that’s your problem,” he said.

Kenny Jacobs, the CEO of Dublin Airport operator daa

Mr Jacobs said that Ryanair has over 1,000,000 signatories and the airline is calling for legislation to be passed at the EU.

“I think it’s absolutely up to the EU to tackle the French government and say, look, we have a single Europe. We want a single Europe on many different fronts. Why can’t we have a single European Sky,” he said.

“Dublin-based air traffic controllers could run French airspace so Europe can fix this. They’re the ones who need to tackle it, and it’s about time that that happens,” he said.

In relation to the number of visitors coming through Dublin airport, the daa CEO said traffic was flat in the first quarter of 2025 due to the passenger cap but in the second quarter there was a 4% increase.

“Europeans in June are up 6% and Americans coming here is up 4% and overall Dublin is for the month of June is up 5.5%, while Cork is up is ‘stonking’ 15%”.

“We’re very dependent on tourism as a small island economy and that creates a lot of jobs. We want to keep people coming to Ireland and we want to keep Irish people connecting with Europe and the rest of the world,” he stated.

On the Dublin Airport passenger cap, Mr Jacobs said the airport have two applications in with Fingal County Council – one for a cap of 36 million and one for 40 million.

“I actually think the Irish Government will fix the situation and find a solution for the passenger cap. I think that will come in the autumn. I hope it comes in the autumn because this is a unique Irish problem,” he said.

He said the passenger cap had caused uncertainty, which creates a problem for airlines.

“This week we just saw TUI pulling two aircraft out of Dublin, partly because of that uncertainty,” he added.

“We want to create an environment where we can grow again. We want to get planning permission granted because the team at Dublin are doing a great job,” Mr Jacobs said.

“This is going to be a very strong summer, but we need more space and we need to add more piers and stands that will allow us to continue to grow,” he added.

On July 3 and July 4, amid the busy summer travel season, French air traffic controllers (ATC) are striking in an effort to spark industry changes in France.

UNSA-ICNA, France’s second-largest air traffic controllers’ union, is participating in the strike. According to CNBC, the workers are protesting due to industry-wide understaffing, outdated technology, and toxic management. Another French air traffic controller union, USAC-CGT, added the country’s civil aviation agency, DGAC, doesn’t comprehend its workers’ frustration.

The DGAC has reportedly requested that airlines cancel up to 50% of their flight schedules, depending on the region/city in France. Moreover, the agency has allegedly requested that travelers make alternative flight arrangements if possible.

“Despite these preventative measures, disturbances and significant delays are to be expected at all French airports,” the DGAC stated, per CNBC.

What Else Is There To Know About The French Air Traffic Controllers’ Strike?

Air France, British Airways, EasyJet, and Lufthansa have reportedly canceled flights, switched flights to larger aircraft, or reduced or adapted their flight schedules.

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-budget carrier, announced that due to the strike, it’s canceled 170 flights, affecting over 30,000 passengers’ travel plans. The airline noted that the strike will also disrupt “overflights,” aka flights passing through France’s airspace while journeying to their destination. By noting that, Ryanair made it clear that French controllers’ strike impacts the flight operations of Europe more broadly.

The airline referred to the French air traffic controllers’ strike as “recreational.” That said, Ryanair and its CEO, Michael O’Leary, directly requested that the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen tackle ATC understaffing and initiate widespread industry reform

“Once again, European families are held to ransom by French Air Traffic Controllers going on strike,” O’Leary criticized. “It is not acceptable that overflights over French airspace en route to their destination are being canceled/delayed as a result of yet another French ATC strike. It makes no sense and is abundantly unfair on EU passengers and families going on holidays.