EasyJet blames French strikers for half of all flight delays in Europe
Kenton Jarvis, chief executive of easyJet, said the strikes which took place over two days earlier this month had 'unbelievably' cost European airlines in excess of £100m as 3,000 flights were cancelled with more than 7,000 delayed.
He added: 'It's a huge frustration. French performance [on air traffic control] is the poorest in Europe by a country mile. Half of the delays in Europe are caused by the French controllers.
'We are extremely unhappy with the strike action, which as well as presenting unacceptable challenges for customers and crew also created unexpected and significant costs.'
The impact of strikes this summer has been more severe than last year, which was itself the worst on record, Mr Jarvis said.
Airlines have been powerless to respond as the walkouts close skies for flights not just to cities such as Paris and Bordeaux but also those crossing French airspace.
Around 75pc of easyJet's flights serve France or fly over the country on the way to popular holiday destinations in Spain, Italy, Portugal and North Africa, Mr Jarvis added.
EasyJet is particularly exposed because it ranks as the second-largest airline in both France and Spain and has fewer eastbound routes that might avoid the problem.
Mr Jarvis said: 'If it happens across a particular area and not across the whole of France then routings can often cope with that. But when the airspace is almost shut there is very little anyone can do.
'If you were flying from the north of England to eastern Europe you would not need to fly over French airspace, but that is not so big for us.'
'Strong ask'
Mr Jarvis said he had written to French ministers urging them to intervene and also spoken with Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, about the impact on holidaymakers.
He said: 'The strong ask for the French government is that they take short-term measures to protect overflying so that at least flights from the UK to Greece, say, can take place.
'In the longer term they have to face into this and bolster the recruitment of controllers. They need to act today to avoid having another bad situation next year and the year beyond.'
Mr Jarvis also said that the European Commission should get involved in the matter, echoing calls from Ryanair, which has said that the most recent walkouts were 'recreational strikes' as French controllers 'opportunistically' took time off to enjoy the summer.
He said: 'I would love the Commission to get involved and as a minimum protect overflying across France. That is the case in Spain; overflying is protected while they are striking.'
EasyJet said it had taken action to reduce aircraft turnaround times, modify crew-change procedures and adjust its schedules to help cope with the strikes, while deploying artificial intelligence to help predict the extent of disruption.
The airline posted a headline pre-tax profit of £286m for the three months through June, an improvement of £50m compared with a year earlier.
It said summer bookings were coming in four or five days later than they did last year, though demand remains strong.
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