Air traffic controllers' strike disrupts travel to, from and over France
Disruptions started hitting airports around France on Thursday and intensified on Friday. The national civil aviation authority asked airlines to cancel 40% of flights on Friday at Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Beauvais airports serving Paris, half of flights in Nice and 30% of flights in Marseille, Lyon and some other cities.
Despite the preventive cancelations, the authority warned in a statement that "disruptions and long delays are to be expected at all French airports."
Ryanair was among airlines that announced widespread disruptions, saying in a statement it canceled more than 400 flights affecting 70,000 passengers. The company said the strike affects all its flights over French airspace, as well as traffic in and out of French airports, and urged the European Union to reform air traffic rules.
One of the two unions leading the strike, UNSA-ICNA, said in a statement there are not enough employees to handle surging air travel and that inflation is eating away at salaries. The unions also are protesting new reform measures aiming to more tightly monitor their work, prompted by a near-collision at the Bordeaux airport.
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot called the union demands – and their decision to strike just as French schools close for the summer and many families head on vacation – "unacceptable."
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Euronews
8 hours ago
- Euronews
Ryanair says European families are ‘held to ransom' by France strikes
A strike by French air traffic controllers (ATC) entered its second day on Friday with flight delays and cancellations continuing for thousands of passengers. Airlines have slammed the industrial action, which comes during one of the busiest months of the year for air travel. Budget airline Ryanair has called on EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to take urgent action. Tens of thousands of passengers affected by French airport strikes In response to the walkout, the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) has asked for a reduction in airport capacity across the country. Airlines for Europe (A4E) said on Thursday that a total of 1500 flights have been cancelled on 3 and 4 July, affecting over 300,000 passengers. Late on Thursday, Ryanair said it has been forced to cancel 400 flights on Thursday and Friday due to the strike, including some flights over France to the UK, Spain, Greece and Ireland. It could disrupt travel for more than 70,000 passengers. Easyjet has also said it has had to cancel 274 flights during the walkout. Ryanair says European families are 'held to ransom' by strikes The industrial action comes on the eve of the school summer holidays in France, when air traffic peaks. These dates are some of the busiest of the year, according to DGAC, as many head off on their summer break. Ryanair has lambasted the move. 'Once again, European families are held to ransom by French air traffic controllers going on strike,' CEO Michael O'Leary said in a statement. He highlighted that the strike is also affecting all flights passing over French airspace, meaning passengers who are not landing or leaving from France are also experiencing disruption. 'It is not acceptable that overflights over French airspace en route to their destination are being cancelled/delayed as a result of yet another French ATC strike,' O'Leary said. 'It makes no sense and is abundantly unfair on EU passengers and families going on holidays.' The airline has called on Ursula von der Leyen to take urgent action to reform the EU's ATC services by ensuring that they are fully staffed for the first wave of daily departures and protecting overflights during national ATC strikes. 'These two splendid reforms would eliminate 90 per cent of all ATC delays and cancellations, and protect EU passengers from these repeated and avoidable disruptions due to yet another French ATC strike.' Airline association calls strikes 'intolerable' Airlines for Europe (A4E) has also hit back over the disruption caused by the French ATC strike. 'Tens of thousands of travellers in France and across Europe have seen their summer getaway grounded as French air traffic controllers walk out,' the group said in a statement. 'Already in 2025, French ATC has proven to be one of the weakest links in Europe's ATC system, posting some of Europe's worst delay records.' ATC capacity-related delays in June 2025 reportedly jumped 115 per cent compared to June 2024. 'European Transport Commissioner Tzitzikostas has repeatedly pressed member states to fix poor-performing ATC and it is high time they stopped the excuses and took action,' the A4E statement continues. The group is calling for various measures to prevent future disruption to passengers in France and across Europe: 'This strike is intolerable. French ATC already delivers some of Europe's worst delay figures and now the actions of a minority of French ATC workers will needlessly disrupt the holiday plans of thousands of people in France and across Europe,' said Ourania Georgoutsakou, Managing Director of A4E. 'There is intense discussion about passenger rights in the EU right now, yet policymakers have done little to fix ATC to help them attain the most basic right: reaching your destination on time.'
Local France
9 hours ago
- Local France
Traffic jams and strikes: Travel in France on first summer holiday weekend
We're officially into les grandes vacances - s chools in France break up for the long summer holidays on July 5th and many families have wasted no time dashing off on their annual getaway. On the roads On France's key arterial routes, that means heavy traffic, as domestic holidaymakers, boosted by tourists from some neighbouring countries head to the coasts for a week or two in the sun. Saturday, July 5th is expected to be the busiest day on the autoroutes and main arteries this weekend, so French roads watchdog Bison Futé advises drivers to avoid travel if your journey is not urgent. Advertisement Friday, July 4th - The roads watchdog issued a yellow alert – indicating 'difficult' travel – conditions across all of France, rising to red – 'very difficult' around Paris, and yellow for those heading away from the coast along the Mediterranean arc. Map: Bison Futé Be aware, too, that the A7 will be closed in both directions between the junction with the A51, near the commune of Pennes-Mirabeau, and Saint-Charles station, in Marseille, from midnight on Friday, July 4th, until 12noon on Sunday, July 6th. Bison Futé specifically advises motorists heading away from French cities towards popular holiday destinations to: avoid travel through the Ile-de-France until after 11pm; avoid the A25 between Lille and Socx from 3pm to 7pm; avoid the A63 between Bordeaux and Bayonne from noon to 6pm; avoid the A7 between Lyon and Orange from 2pm to 7pm, and between Orange and Marseille from 5pm to 7pm; avoid the A75 between Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers from 3pm to 6pm; avoid the A61 between Toulouse and Narbonne from 4pm to 7pm; avoid the A46 and N346, for the eastern bypass of Lyon, between 12noon and 6pm; Avoid the Mont Blanc tunnel (N205), heading into Italy, until 9pm. Heading back towards cities, it advises avoiding: the A9 between Montpellier and Orange from 6pm to 8pm; the A7 between Marseille and Salon-de-Provence from 5pm to 8pm; the A8 between Italy and Le Luc from 4pm to 7pm; the A57 between Le Luc and Toulon from 4pm to 6pm; the A54 and the N113 between Salon-de-Provence and Nîmes from 5pm to 8pm. Saturday, July 5th - The busiest travel day of the first weekend of the summer holiday period, with a nationwide red travel warning in place on routes heading towards popular holiday destinations, and a yellow alert in place for those heading the other way in the south east. Map: Bison Futé Particular advice, for those heading to holiday destinations, is: Leave or cross the Ile-de-France region before 5am or after 5pm; Avoid the A11 between Angers and Nantes from 10am to 2pm; Avoid N165 between Nantes and Quimper between 1pm and 5pm; avoid the A10 between Paris and Orléans from 8am to 12noon, between Orléans and Tours from 11am to 2pm, and between Tours and Bordeaux from 10am to 5pm; avoid the A7 between Lyon and Orange from 8am to 3pm and between Orange and Marseille from 10am to 8pm; avoid the A9 between Orange and Narbonne from 11am to 2pm and between Narbonne and Spain from 11am to 5pm; Avoid the A61 between Toulouse and Narbonne from 1pm to 3pm; Avoid the Mont Blanc tunnel (N205) heading into Italy from 9am to 4pm. Heading away from holiday resorts, the advice is: avoid the A7 between Marseille and Orange from 10am to 2pm; avoid the A8 between La Fare-les-Oliviers and Le Luc from 11am to 1pm; avoid the A9 between Spain and Orange from 11am to 5pm; avoid the A54 and the N113 between Nîmes and Salon-de-Provence from 10am to 3pm. Advertisement Sunday, July 6th - A return to relative travel calm, with only a partial yellow travel alert in place on roads heading towards holiday destinations. Map: Bison Futé In particular, motorists are advised to avoid: the A25 between Lille and Socx from 11am to 3pm; the A13 between Rouen and Caen from 3pm to 5pm; the A11 between Angers and Nantes from 4pm to 7pm; the A10 between Orléans and Tours from 9am to 2pm; the A7 between Lyon and Orange from noon to 8pm; the A43 between Lyon and Chambéry between 12noon and 2pm; the Mont Blanc tunnel (N205) into Italy from 10am to 7pm. In the air French air traffic controllers staged a two-day strike on Thursday and Friday, prompting the cancellation of hundreds of flights not just to-and-from France but also overflying the country. READ ALSO 'Stuck at Charles de Gaulle' - Hundreds more flights cancelled as French air traffic controllers strike The European Airlines for Europe (A4E) association said 1,500 flights would be cancelled on Thursday and Friday in Europe, affecting 300,000 passengers – causing 'almost 500,000 minutes' in delays in Europe on Thursday for nearly 33,000 commercial flights. Advertisement And the effects of the walkout will likely be felt well into the weekend, as airlines scramble to get their planes where they need to be. As a result, some delays and disruption are likely. Airlines generally try to preserve long-haul flights so disruption is usually centred on short-haul routes, however high levels of cancellations can also lead to knock-on disruption and delays on other flights. Contact your airline if you are concerned about your flights this weekend. Railways The union Sud Rail has an open-ended strike notice in place until September 1st, but no walkouts have been announced for this weekend. Nevertheless, as it is the first holiday weekend of the summer, expect railway stations to be much busier than normal, as those who don't want to drive or fly head off on their holidays.
Local France
11 hours ago
- Local France
'Stuck at Charles de Gaulle' - Hundreds more flights cancelled as French air traffic controllers strike
Paris airports risk being 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. You can find a full breakdown of the cancellations here . Friday is the final day of school in France before the summer holidays, with many families planning an early getaway. The strike will end on July 5th, but there is likely to be knock-on disruption over the weekend. 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. READ ALSO Will there be more French air traffic control strikes this summer? Advertisement 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." French Prime Minister François Bayrou described the strike as "shocking". "Choosing the day when everyone goes on holiday to go on strike at air traffic control is taking the French hostage," he told BFMTV. You can listen to the team at The Local discuss the strike, and the likelihood of further action, on the Talking France podcast. Download here or listen on the link below 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. Advertisement The association said the strikes also caused "almost 500,000 minutes" in delays in Europe on Thursday on nearly 33,000 commercial flights. Ryanair, Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers, said it had cancelled more than 400 flights. "These strikes are unacceptable," said Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, urging 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." The two unions taking part in the strike action - which between them represent around 30 percent of air traffic controllers - are calling for "a change of course to reinforce staffing levels, bring technical modernisation projects to fruition, and put operational priorities back at the heart of decision-making at the Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile [the French civil aviation authority]." The unions also "denounce the managerial excesses within the Directorate of Air Navigation Services, whose authoritarian, brutal management style, reneging on its commitments and disconnected from operational realities, maintains a climate of constant pressure and mistrust incompatible with the serenity and safety requirements of the air traffic controller's profession."
