Second Day Of Travel Chaos As French Air Traffic Controllers Strike
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Second Day Of Travel Chaos As French Air Traffic Controllers Strike
French air traffic controllers stage the second day of a two-day strike. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled affecting hundreds of thousands of people. The timing of the strike is particularly acute with Friday the final day of school in France and many families planning an early getaway. The government has condemned the strike, with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou telling BFMTV that “choosing the day when everyone goes on holiday to go on strike at air traffic control is taking the French hostage” European Airlines for Europe said 1,500 flights would be cancelled on Thursday and Friday in Europe, affecting 300,000 passengers. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary urged the EU Commission to protect such overflights by law in case of strikes. The strikes also caused “almost 500,000 minutes” in delays in Europe on Thursday on nearly 33,000 commercial flights.
Paris airports were 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 and 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.
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Around 1,000 flights had been cancelled on Friday morning, after the DGAC asked companies to cancel 40 percent of flights to deal with the strike.
The government has condemned the strike, with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou telling BFMTV that “choosing the day when everyone goes on holiday to go on strike at air traffic control is taking the French hostage.”
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‘Unacceptable’
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot told CNews that “yesterday and today, 272 people in our country will impact the well-being of more than 500,000 people”.
“This is unacceptable,” he said.
UNSA-ICNA, the second biggest labour group in the sector, launched the action to protest against “chronic understaffing”, the planned introduction of a clock-in system, outdated equipment and “toxic management practices that are incompatible with the requirements of calm and safety”.
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It was joined by the third largest union, USAC-CGT but the main union, SNCTA, has not joined the action.
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.
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“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.
‘Stuck’
Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, said it had cancelled more than 400 flights.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary urged 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,” he said.
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.”
Lara, 30, was scheduled to take a flight from Paris to Berlin with her partner to visit friends.
“The flight was scheduled for Thursday evening, but we were informed on Wednesday that it had been cancelled. We had been able to get another ticket for free, for Friday evening, but that was also cancelled,” she told AFP, adding they had to buy more expensive train tickets.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Second Day Of French ATC Strike Causes Chaos For Hundreds Of Thousands Of Passengers
A strike by French air traffic controllers entered its second day on Friday, causing further flight delays and cancellations. French ATC unions UNSA-ICNA and USAC-CGT launched their two-day strike on Thursday to protest against staff shortages and aging equipment. France’s civil aviation agency, DGAC, condemned the industrial action and advised airlines to cancel 40% of flights at the three main Paris airports on Friday. The strike has impacted hundreds of thousands of passengers, not just to-and-from France, but also overflying the country as summer holidays kick off. The timing of the strike is particularly acute, with Friday the final day of school in France, and many families planning an early getaway for summer vacation. Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, said it had already canceled more than 470 flights, impacting over 70,000 of its passengers. The European Airlines for Europe (A4E) association said 1,500 flights had already been canceled, affecting over 300,000 passengers.
France’s civil aviation agency, DGAC, condemned the industrial action and advised airlines to cancel 40% of flights at the three main Paris airports on Friday because of the strike. This includes the country’s largest airport, Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport, one of Europe’s busiest hubs for international travel. Up to half of flights at France’s other airports, mostly in the south, have also been affected.
The Origins And Impact Of The Strike
Photo: Freddy Florent | Shutterstock
UNSA-ICNA, the second-largest labor group in the French ATC sector, launched the strike action to protest against “chronic understaffing”, the planned introduction of a clock-in system, outdated equipment, and “toxic management practices that are incompatible with the requirements of calm and safety”. It was joined by the third-largest union, USAC-CGT, but the main union, SNCTA, has not joined the action.
France’s Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGAC) said over 900 flights departing from or arriving at French airports were canceled on Thursday, some ten percent of total flights scheduled. The proportion of cancellations rose to 25 percent at the main airports in Paris. The impact will be far greater on Friday after the DGAC asked airlines to cancel 40 percent of flights to deal with the strike.
The timing of the strike is particularly acute, with Friday the final day of school in France, and many families planning an early getaway for summer vacation. The French government has condemned the strike, with Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot calling it “totally unacceptable”. Speaking to CNews, he had the following to say:
“Choosing the day when everyone goes on holiday to go on strike at air traffic control is taking the French hostage. Yesterday and today, 272 people in our country will impact the safety and well-being of more than half a million people. This is totally unacceptable.”
Reaction From The Airline Industry
Photo: Niklas Jonasson
The European Airlines for Europe (A4E) association said 1,500 flights had already been canceled, affecting over 300,000 passengers. The association said the strikes had also had a ripple effect all across Europe and beyond, causing delays to nearly 33,000 commercial flights on Thursday alone.
“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 but also right across Europe,” said A4E chief Ourania Georgoutsakou. The Europe-wide impact is exacerbated due to France’s central position, forcing many flights that have to pass over French airspace to re-route, requiring more fuel, increasing journey times, and creating knock-on delays.
Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, said it had already canceled more than 470 flights, impacting over 70,000 of its passengers. The airline’s fiery CEO, Michael O’Leary, has battled with French ATC in the past, and didn’t mince his words when asked for comment.
“Once again, European families are being held to ransom by French air traffic controllers going on strike,” he said, urging the EU Commission to protect overflights by law in case of strikes. “Of our flight cancellations, 350 would not be canceled if the EU protected overflights over France,” he said.
Related How Air Traffic Control Strikes Will Impact European Aviation Another French ATC strike will disrupt over a quarter of a million passengers in the coming days.
Continued Chaos At Paris Airports
Photo: CDG | Unsplash
Paris’ three main airports, Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Orly (ORY) and Beauvais (BVA), are particularly badly impacted, and things are expected to get far worse on Friday as families look to set out on the first day of summer vacation in France. Local news sites are filled with photos and videos of stranded passengers staring at departure boards loaded with cancellations, trying to assess their options.
Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport Europe/Paris IATA Code CDG City Paris State/Province/Region Île-de-France Country France IATA/ICAO Code CDG/LFPG ICAO Code LFPG
The stories of stranded passengers will immediately resonate with the regular travelers among us. “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 traveling to Marseille from New York, speaking to France24 late on Thursday evening. “I’m currently on the waiting list for three flights and am really hoping for a spot on the next one to become available.”
Lara Magnus was scheduled to take a flight from Paris to Berlin with her partner to visit friends. “The flight was scheduled for Thursday evening, but we were informed that it had been canceled. We were able to get another ticket for Friday evening, but it has also been canceled,” she told AFP. She says that their only option has been to abandon the airport and purchase more expensive train tickets.