Ryanair has been forced to cancel more than 300 flights, across its European network, due to the latest drama over air traffic controller (ATC) strike action in France.
French ATC workers had planned to go on a 24-hour strike today, but it didn’t go ahead due to the SNCTA trade union agreeing a new pay and working conditions deal.
However, the cancellation of the strike action came too late to accommodate a reversal of widespread flight cancellations across France that had to be called early to avoid mass chaos.
As a result, 55% of Thursday flights through Paris Charles de Gaulle – France’s main airport – have been cancelled, and 75% of flights through Paris Orly will not take off. Across the rest of France, a combined 45% of flights have been cancelled.
Ryanair has again called on the EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, to take urgent action to protect overflights, which she has failed to do for the last 5 years.
The airline said: “EU citizens’ freedom of movement is being denied by these ATC strikes and we call on passengers to join our campaign by signing our ‘Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open’ petition, which has over 2.1 million signatures from Europe’s fed up passengers.
“Ryanair and its 200m passengers demand that the EU Commission take the following measures in order to protect overflights during French ATC strikes:
- Protect French overflights by law during ATC strikes as they do in Greece, Italy and Spain
- Allow Europe’s other ATCs to manage flights over France while French ATC are on strike
- Mandate that French ATC unions must engage in binding arbitration before calling strikes”
Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary said:
“French air traffic controllers are free to go on strike, that’s their right, but we should be cancelling French flights, not flights leaving Ireland, going to Italy, or flights from Germany to Spain or Scandinavia to Portugal. The European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen has failed for five years to take any action to protect overflights and the single market for air travel. We’re again calling on her to take action to protect overflights which will eliminate over 90% of these flight cancellations.
“In June, we will have European elections, we encourage everyone to vote in these elections and demand your MEP and the European Commission to take action to protect overflights. We can’t have the skies over Europe repeatedly closed because French Air Traffic Controllers are going on strike.
Protect overflights during national ATC strikes, reduce flight cancellations and disruptions and let’s have a better summer for all of Europe’s citizens and visitors.”
