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France air traffic strike disrupts European flights, over 500,000 affected
A departures information board is seen at Orly airport, near Paris, as French air traffic controllers launched a two-day strike to demand better working conditions. AP
On Friday, French air traffic controllers went on strike for the second day in a row, causing hundreds of thousands of travellers to miss flights not just to and from France, but also overflying the country as the summer vacation season begins.
Paris airports were hit even harder than on the first day of the strike on Thursday, which was organised by two minority unions demanding improved working conditions and staffing.
The timing of the strike is especially acute, with Friday being the last day of school in France before the summer vacation and many families contemplating an early departure.
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According to France's DGAC aviation authority, 933 flights departing or arriving at French airports were cancelled on Thursday, accounting for around 10% of the total number of flights originally scheduled. At Paris' principal airports, the cancellation rate has risen to 25 percent.
Around 1,000 flights were cancelled on Friday morning after the DGAC requested that firms postpone 40% of their flights to deal with the strike.
The government has criticised the walkout, 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.'
'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sector, launched the action to protest against 'chronic understaffing', the planned introduction of a clock-in system, outdated equipment and 'toxic management practices that are incompatible with the requirements of calm and safety'.
It was joined by the third largest union, USAC-CGT but the main union, SNCTA, has not joined the action.
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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.
'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.
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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.
Around 30 flights at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam were cancelled while others were delayed on Friday due to the strikes, an airport spokesperson said in an email to AFP.
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'Around 30 flights have been cancelled today by airlines as a precaution,' the spokesperson said.
'We expect a return to regular operations this weekend as the strikes are expected to end.'
Airline KLM said the strikes have caused operational irregularities including delays and two flight cancellations.
'Where needed customers have been rebooked on the next available flight,' an airline spokesman said.
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