Ryanair forced to cancel more than 400 flights due to French air traffic control strike
The disruption comes at the start of Europe's summer holidays, one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
Advertisement
The French civil aviation agency DGAC on Wednesday asked multiple carriers to reduce flights at Paris airports by 40 per cent on July 4th due to the planned strike.
"In addition to flights to/from France being cancelled, this strike will also affect all French overflights," Ryanair said in a statement on Thursday.
Ireland
Ryanair's Michael O'Leary receives pay-package of...
Read More
Passengers overflying French airspace from the United Kingdom to Greece and Spain to Ireland would also be affected, the Dublin-based carrier said.
Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to take urgent action to reform European Union air traffic controllers' services.
"Once again European families are held to ransom by French air traffic controllers going on strike," Mr O'Leary said. "It makes no sense and is abundantly unfair on EU passengers and families going on holidays."
He said Ryanair had cancelled 468 flights and expected the number to keep rising.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
France's best village revealed and the residents are desperate for tourists to visit
Searching for your new favourite holiday destination? With tourists being sprayed with water pistols in Barcelona, cruise passengers hit with a hefty tourist tax in Santorini and overcrowding in some of the UK's prettiest villages, you might be struggling to pick a summer getaway. But luckily there's one gorgeous European village where tourists will be welcomed with open arms. Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye, a medieval commune in southeastern France, was just named the country's favourite village. And rather than worrying about the potential crowds the win could bring to Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye, the village's mayor has described it as a 'great honour'. Mayor Maryline Longis told The Times: 'We haven't got the problem of overtourism and it won't happen here. 'This is a great honour and we're perfectly well able to handle more tourism. It will help our restaurants, hotels and shops.' She even claimed that the village will remain 'calm and untroubled' even if lots of tourists arrive. So, what makes Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye France's best village? Stephane Bern, a royal commentator who presented the award, described it as 'prosperous and well-run'. Located between Grenoble and Valence, the village is named after Saint Anthony the Great, whose bones are kept in the Abbey. A Gothic building, the 900-year-old abbey is known for its stunning architecture and as a pilgrimage site for people walking the Santiago de Compostela route. Tourists can discover more about the abbey's history at its museum which has a 4.3 star rating on Tripadvisor. But the village's pretty streets and market squares are also well-worth exploring. Tourists will find stone houses towards the upper part of the village which the historic centre has independent shops. Those who visit in August should try to coincide their visit the La Medievale festival, a medieval-themed celebration. The village is taken back in time to the 13th century during the event with costumed performers lining the streets. How to get to Saint-Antoine-L'Abbaye The nearest airport to Saint-Antoine-L'Abbaye is Grenoble-Isere Airport which is 14 miles from the village. British tourists can fly direct to Grenoble from the UK on several airlines including easyJet and Wizz Air. It can also be easily reached from Lyon Airport with easyJet and BA among the airlines offering direct flights from the UK.
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Ryanair urges EU chief to 'quit' over air traffic strike disruption
The boss of Ryanair has told Sky News the president of the European Commission should "quit" if she can't stop disruption caused by repeated French air traffic control strikes. Michael O'Leary, the group chief executive of Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers, said in an interview with Business Live that Ursula von der Leyen had failed to get to grips, at an EU level, with interruption to overflights following several recent disputes in France. The latest action began on Thursday and is due to conclude later today, forcing thousands of flights to be delayed and cancelled through French airspace closures. Mr O'Leary told presenter Darren McCaffrey that French domestic flights were given priority during ATC strikes and other nations, including Italy and Greece, had solved the problem through minimum service legislation. He claimed that the vast majority of flights, cancelled over two days of action that began on Thursday, would have been able to operate under similar rules. Mr O'Leary said of the EU's role: "We continue to call on Ursula von der Leyen - why are you not protecting these overflights, why is the single market for air travel being disrupted by a tiny number of French air traffic controllers? "All we get is a shrug of their shoulders and 'there's nothing we can do'. We point out, there is." He added: "We are calling on Ursula von der Leyen, who preaches about competitiveness and reforming Europe, if you're not willing to protect or fix overflights then quit and let somebody more effective do the job." The strike is estimated, by the Airlines for Europe lobby group to have led to at least 1,500 cancelled flights, leaving 300,000 travellers unable to make their journeys. Ryanair itself had axed more than 400 flights so far, Mr O'Leary said. Rival easyJet said on Thursday that it had cancelled 274 services over the two days. The beginning of July marks the start of the European summer holiday season. The French civil aviation agency DGAC had already told airlines to cancel 40% of flights covering the three main Paris airports on Friday ahead of the walkout - a dispute over staffing levels and equipment quality. Mr O'Leary described those safety issues as "nonsense" and said twhile the controllers had a right to strike, they did not have the right to close the sky. DGAC has warned of delays and further severe disruption heading into the weekend. Many planes and crews will be out of position. Mr O'Leary is not alone in expressing his frustration. The French transport minister Philippe Tabarot has denounced the action and the reasons for it. "The idea is to disturb as many people as possible," he said in an interview with CNews. Passengers are being advised that if your flight is cancelled, the airline must either give you a refund or book you on an alternative flight. If you have booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can claim the full cost of the return ticket back from your airline.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Mother's controversial method for securing sunbeds DIVIDES opinion: 'You're part of the problem'
A British mother has sparked fierce backlash on social media after demonstrating her controversial method to bag a prized sunbed whilst on holiday. Venice Alexandra, from Essex, documented the eyebrow-raising tactic in a TikTok video taken during her stay at a hotel in Tenerife in June. Sunbed wars have been raging across Europe in recent years - a trend that sees tourists compete for prime sunbathing spots at hotel pools and on beaches, often armed with towels and blankets to 'reserve' their place before returning hours later. The peak season practice has spiralled in popular hotspots frequented by Brits, such as Spain and Turkey, with staff at hotels clamping down on 'sunbed hoggers' by hiring bouncers and introducing parking ticket-style systems. But in footage shared to her page, @lifewithven, Venice unveiled her strategy to secure a lounger by any means - even if it meant waking up hours before the first alarm of the morning goes off. She explained in a caption: 'At 6am every morning, the same sunbeds at the kids pool get taken. 'I'm not usually one to race for a bed on holiday, however, the way our pools are set, there's limited beds by the kids pools. The mother recorded herself posing in the mirror at 6.30am clutching a number of towels whilst wearing pyjamas and flip-flops, having hauled herself out of bed to embark on her mission. She added in accompanying overlay text: 'I am up and ready to go to war for these beds.' Venice ventured to the pool area outside and draped towels over three sunbeds to secure the prime spots, adding: 'No one comes between a mum and visibility of her kid going down a slide lol.' Remarkably, the mother captured the moment she took herself 'back to bed' to catch up on sleep whilst avoiding the early-morning rush to snag a lounger. She smugly added: 'Venice 1 - Everyone else 0.' Over 470 viewers flooded the comments with negative responses, with many blasting the mother for her 'pathetic' and 'selfish' tactic. One person wrote, 'Now you're part of the problem,' while another said, 'Disgusting... you save beds, then come down at lunchtime, plain selfishness.' A third said, 'I'd chuck your towels in the pool and use the beds,' as a fourth added, 'Sad and pathetic.' Another wrote: 'Clearly you're a cheap person staying in a cheap hotel. Anywhere decent doesn't allow this.' A fellow viewer said: 'How do you even enjoy the holiday when you're forced to get up at 6am and stress about these things. Simple solution is to just go to better hotels.' Over 470 viewers flooded the comments with negative responses, with many blasting the mother for her 'pathetic' and 'selfish' tactic However, one person defended: 'Y'all so mad but she made sure to save her spot before anyone else likeeeee I don't see a problem if you care that much then do the same. "First come first serve" yeah and she was first.' It comes after a British couple captured the hilarious moment they discovered every sunbed had been snapped up by sun-worshipping guests in Benidorm only a minute after their hotel pool opened. Mark and Karen had recently enjoyed a relaxing break at the Hotel Ambassador Playa - but were left stunned after noticing all but one broken poolside lounger had been occupied within seconds at 8.30am. Sharing a clip to their TikTok page, @benidormmarkandkaren, Mark and Karen documented their own experience of having to hunt for a prized bed.
