Widespread travel disruption expected across France
The French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) has requested airlines to significantly reduce flights, including 25 per cent at Paris airports and up to 50 per cent at other regional airports like Nice and Bastia.
The strike, initiated by UNSA-ICNA, seeks improved pay and increased staffing for air traffic controllers after failed negotiations.
Passengers are advised to expect significant disturbances and delays at all French airports and should consider changing their flights if possible.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has issued a warning, urging travellers to monitor operator advice and local authorities' guidance.
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The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Ryanair and easyJet cancel hundreds of flights amid air traffic control strikes
Thousands of passengers have had their travel plans disrupted after low-cost airlines Ryanair and easyJet cancelled hundreds of flights due to French air traffic control strikes. Ryanair said it was forced to make 170 cancellations on Thursday and Friday as the strikes affect flights to and from France – and also flights over the country to destinations such as the UK, Greece, Spain and Ireland – impacting more than 30,000 passengers. Luton-based rival easyJet said it had cancelled 124 flights today and was scrapping 150 tomorrow due to the industrial action. EasyJet said customers have been contacted directly and have the option to transfer to another flight for free or receive a refund, but advised all passengers to check the status of their flights in case of further disruption over the next two days. 'While this is outside of our control, we will do all we can to minimise the impact of the strike action,' easyJet said. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary renewed calls on EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to take 'urgent action' to reform European Union air traffic control (ATC) services in light of the disruption, which comes at the start of the European summer holidays. Mr O'Leary said: 'Once again, European families are held to ransom by French air traffic controllers going on strike. '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. 'It makes no sense and is abundantly unfair on EU passengers and families going on holidays.' EasyJet echoed the plea, asking for 'long-term solutions'. It said: 'On behalf of our passengers we are extremely unhappy with the strike action, particularly given the current performance of French ATC which has been the leading cause of airspace delays in Europe this summer. 'Long term solutions must be found for our customers and crew who suffer repeated disruption.' Airlines have long-campaigned for an overhaul of ATC services across Europe. Ryanair said it wants the EU to ensure ATC services are fully staffed for the first wave of daily departures, as well as to protect overflights during national ATC strikes. 'These two splendid reforms would eliminate 90% of all ATC delays and cancellations, and protect EU passengers from these repeated and avoidable ATC disruptions due to yet another French ATC strike,' Mr O'Leary added. Ryanair also said on Wednesday it had been hit by the recent conflict in the Middle East, and it cancelled more than 800 flights last month. It is among those to have cancelled and rerouted flights amid the conflict between Israel and Iran, as well as continued attacks in Gaza, which last week saw flights halted at Dubai airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Times
4 hours ago
- Times
JK Place Paris hotel review: live la dolce vita in France courtesy of Italy's chicest hotel group
Since Ori Kafri opened the first JK Place in Florence in 2003 he's had an enviable reputation for creating super-stylish hideaways loaded with the holy grail of hospitality: a home-from-home ambiance. This place, one block from the Seine on the Left Bank, is no exception. Downstairs, a series of eclectic salons masterfully mix marble fireplaces, flea-market finds, elegant antiques and coffee-table tomes with tribal masks and contemporary sculptures. They have enviable lounging potential as well as charming views over the Italian restaurant in its covered courtyard. Upstairs, understated bedrooms are as light and luscious as a madeleine cake. There is also a dinky pool and a spa featuring skincare by a Nobel prizewinning chemist. This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue Score 9/10The 29 rooms feel as discreet and debonair as the diplomats who frequented the building when it was still the Norwegian embassy. All are individually designed, and high ceilings and soaring sash windows ensure they feel airy, as does the clever use of space to create walk-through wardrobe areas between bedroom and bathroom. Expect panelled walls in putty-coloured whites, pared-back four-poster beds and mid-century furniture upholstered in plum and navy velvet. Geometric carpet designs, abstract art and impressively curated tactile lamps and ornaments add energy and a modern edge. Most rooms have only showers, but their jaunty black-and-white marble interiors and silver fittings are classy, as are the Dyson hair appliances. Complimentary soft drinks in the minibar are a nice touch too. Score 8/10 The dining room is within the hotel's charming internal courtyard, protected from the elements by a glass roof, although there's an area for alfresco tables when the weather permits. Lit by lamps and candles, festooned with chunky pots planted with orchids and with a central table sagging with hardback books, it dances smoothly between French and Italian influences. Start your evening with a cocktail in the sexy bar before ordering unashamedly Italian fare, served by charismatic and knowledgeable Italian staff. This is the fourth in the much-loved Casa Tua restaurant chain. Its flagship is in Miami Beach, so you won't be surprised that there are hamburgers and club sandwiches on the menu, but most diners stay true to those Italian roots, choosing classic dishes such as flavour-packed burrata drizzled with balsamic oil and dressed with sun-dried tomatoes and radicchio, as well as mains such as robust Milanese-style veal with smashed potatoes and rocket salad and moreish porcini risotto. The next morning, with light streaming through the glass roof, it becomes a delightful breakfast venue where you will be joined by chic French couples and their pocket pooches for pastries, pain perdu and crêpes and wickedly good Monte Cristo ham and mozzarella sandwiches. • Book a table at the best restaurants in Paris• More great hotels in Paris Score 9/10The subterranean spa has a petite heated swimming pool, a treat for such a small Paris hotel. There is also a sauna and steam room, as well as a decent gym. Its prize, though, are the treatments using Noble Panacea, a super-effective skincare brand developed by Fraser Stoddart, who won a Nobel prize and knighthood for his research and lifetime contribution to organic chemistry. The facials are expensive — as are the products — and be warned: you'll become addicted to how glowing and youthful they make your complexion. Score 9/10You won't believe that you can be a stone's throw from the Seine and yet in such a quiet street. And while there are no Instagrammable views through these windows, the Musée d'Orsay is on your doorstep and the Louvre and Jardins des Tuileries are a pleasant stroll across the river. The buzzy neighbourhood restaurants, cafés and interesting independent boutiques of St-Germain-des-Prés are an easy 20-minute walk away. The Invalides and Solferino metro stations are nearby for forays further afield. Price B&B doubles from £745Restaurant mains from £29Family-friendly YAccessible N Susan d'Arcy was a guest of JK Place, Paris ( • What to do in Paris• Best affordable hotels in Paris under £170
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
French strikes cause travel chaos: Ryanair cancels 170 flights
Tens of thousands of passengers have had their travel plans disrupted after easyJet cancelled 274 flights and Ryanair axed 170 due to French air traffic control strikes. Irish low-cost airline Ryanair said the cancellations today and tomorrow will affect flights to and from France, including families travelling abroad for summer holidays. But most of its 30,000 disrupted passengers are being affected by cancellations to flights over French airspace to countries such as the UK, Greece, Spain and Ireland. Some 15 Ryanair flights arriving at or departing from London Stansted Airport have been cancelled while others have been axed at Manchester and Edinburgh. Hundreds of flights operated by other airlines have been cancelled in France today, with the strike by two French unions also affecting air traffic across western Europe. In France, half of all flights in Nice and a quarter of flights at Paris Orly and Paris Charles de Gaulle airports, one of Europe's busiest hubs, have been cancelled. She was planning to spend six days in the French capital but her flight from the southwestern city of Pau this morning was cancelled. 'Everyone has the right to strike, but it's punitive. Air traffic controllers aren't the worst off,' Ms Rivet said, adding she hoped to have more luck tomorrow. France's civil aviation agency the DGAC has asked airlines to cancel some of their flights to ensure there are enough controllers on duty. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary renewed calls on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to take 'urgent action' to reform European Union air traffic control (ATC) services in light of the disruption. Mr O'Leary said: 'Once again, European families are held to ransom by French air traffic controllers going on strike. 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. It makes no sense and is abundantly unfair on EU passengers and families going on holidays.' Ryanair has long-campaigned for an overhaul of ATC services across Europe. It wants the EU to ensure ATC services are fully staffed for the first wave of daily departures, as well as to protect 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 ATC disruptions due to yet another French ATC strike,' Mr O'Leary added. Also today, easyJet said it had made 124 cancellations in advance for today and are making 150 cancellations in advance of tomorrow, across its European flight programme. This is out of 1,857 flights planned to operate today. An easyJet spokesman told MailOnline: 'The national strike action by French air traffic controllers today is impacting all airlines operating to and from French airports and using French airspace. 'As required by the French authorities (DGAC) easyJet proactively cancelled some flights in advance and customers were contacted directly with options to transfer to another flight for free or a refund. As this action could result in further disruption to airline's flying programmes, we advise all customers travelling on July 3 or 4 to check the status of their flights on our Flight Tracker online for the most up to date information. While this is outside of our control, we will do all we can to minimise the impact of the strike action. On behalf of our passengers we are extremely unhappy with the strike action, particularly given the current performance of French ATC which has been the leading cause of airspace delays in Europe this summer. Long term solutions must be found for our customers and crew who suffer repeated disruption.' And a British Airways spokesman said: 'Like all airlines, due to industrial action by French Air Traffic Control, we've had to make some adjustments to our schedule. This is outside of our control, and we've apologised to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans. Our teams are working to get our customers to their destinations as quickly as possible.' MailOnline understands BA is using larger aircraft wherever it can to help accommodate customers from flights the airline has been forced to cancel. Airlines for Europe (A4E), an industry association which includes Ryanair, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, British Airways and EasyJet, described the action as 'intolerable'. According to sources, 270 air traffic controllers out of a total workforce of around 1,400 went on strike. France's second-largest air traffic controllers' union, UNSA-ICNA, launched the action to demand better working conditions and more staff. The union is protesting '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'. 'The DGAC is failing to modernise the tools that are essential to air traffic controllers, even though it continues to promise that all necessary resources are being made available,' UNSA-ICNA said in a statement. 'The systems are on their last legs, and the (air traffic control) agency is constantly asking more of its staff to compensate for its difficulties.' It was joined by the third largest union, USAC-CGT, which said the DGAC had failed to comprehend the frustration felt by controllers. The DGAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the trade unions' concerns. Their complaints echo grievances expressed by air traffic controllers in the US over outdated infrastructure, dramatic staffing shortfalls and failing technology. France's Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot called the unions' demands unacceptable'. The main air traffic controllers' union, SNCTA, had no plans to join the strike. Airports in the south of France were particularly hit, with 30 per cent of flights cancelled in cities including Lyon, Marseille and Montpellier. Air France said it had been 'forced to adapt its flight schedule' without specifying the number of cancellations, but stressed that its long-haul network was not affected. By mid-morning today, flights were experiencing significant delays, including an average of 1.5 hours for arrivals and 1 hour for departures in Nice, France's third-largest airport. Tomorrow, the situation is expected to become even more tense at Paris airports and Beauvais, where the DGAC has ordered a 40 per cent reduction in the number of flights. This morning, the Eurocontrol monitoring agency warned airlines of 'significant' delays in the airspace managed by the air traffic control centres in Marseille, Brest and Reims. Some 29,000 commercial flights were scheduled for today in Europe, said Eurocontrol. Business aviation, particularly in Nice and Le Bourget near Paris, has also been significantly affected, sources said. The DGAC asked airlines to cut one in four flights in and out of Paris airports and almost half of flights out of the capital tomorrow. Elsewhere, airlines were asked to reduce flights by 30 to 50 per cent. 'Despite these preventative measures, disturbances and significant delays are to be expected at all French airports,' the agency said, urging passengers to change their flights if they were able to. Meanwhile Ryanair said yesterday it had been hit by the recent conflict in the Middle East, and it cancelled more than 800 flights last month. It is among those to have cancelled and rerouted flights amid the conflict between Israel and Iran, as well as continued attacks in Gaza. Last week, flights were halted at Dubai airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as passengers were told to expect further delays and cancellations. Ryanair said it still operated more than 109,000 flights in June, indicating that fewer than 1 per cent of flights were affected. The Ireland-based business carried 19.9million passengers in June, representing a 3 per cent increase on the same month last year. Caught up in the flight chaos today? Please email:
