Latest news with #DGAC
Local Norway
4 days ago
- Local Norway
Hundreds of flights cancelled across Europe as travel chaos continues
Aviation authorities had to ask airlines to scrap hundreds of flights not just to-and-from France but also overflying the country as summer holidays kick off. 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. READ ALSO: Will travel in Europe be hit by more French air traffic control strikes this summer? 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." Advertisement Paris airports worst hit Paris airports risked 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. The timing of the strike is particularly acute with Friday the final day of school in France before the summer holidays, with many families planning an early getaway. 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. The proportion of cancellations rose to 25 percent at the main airports in Paris. But on Friday the situation risks being even more severe with the DGAC asking companies to cancel 40 percent of flights to deal with the strike. French Prime Minister Francois 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. 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. LISTEN: From strikes to extreme heat - What to expect in France this summer
Local Italy
4 days ago
- Business
- Local Italy
Flights disrupted across Europe as French air traffic controllers strike
The DGAC civil aviation authority has asked airlines to cancel some of their flights to ensure there are enough controllers on duty. The strike affected air traffic across Western Europe. Ryanair, Europe's largest airline, said on Thursday it was forced to cancel 170 flights, affecting 30,000 passengers. "Once again, European families are being held hostage by French air traffic controllers," said Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary. The Airlines for Europe association, which includes Ryanair, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, British Airways and EasyJet, described the action as "intolerable". According to sources familiar with the matter, 270 air traffic controllers out of a total workforce of around 1,400 went on strike. UNSA-ICNA, the second biggest labour group in the sector, launched the action to demand better working conditions and more staff. It was joined by the third largest union, USAC-CGT. Shortly after 10 am on Thursday, 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. A quarter of flights departing from or arriving at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly have also been cancelled. Airports in the south were particularly hit. In addition to Nice, 30 percent of flights have been cancelled in cities including Lyon, Marseille, and Montpellier. On the eve of the school holidays on Friday, the situation is expected to become even more tense at Paris airports and Beauvais, where the DGAC has ordered a 40-percent reduction in the number of flights. On Thursday 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. Sources said that business aviation, particularly in Nice and Le Bourget near Paris, has also been significantly affected. France's transport minister called the unions' demands unacceptable. "The demands made by minority unions are unacceptable, as is the decision to hold this strike at the start of the holiday season," Philippe Tabarot said on Wednesday.
eNCA
5 days ago
- eNCA
Second day of travel chaos as French air traffic controllers strike
PARIS - A strike by French air traffic controllers brought a second day of chaos to European skies, with flights for hundreds of thousands of people cancelled as the summer holiday season gathered pace. More than 1,100 flights arriving or leaving France and hundreds that were to fly over the country were cancelled on Friday, according to official figures. Paris airports were even more severely affected than on the first day of the strike on Thursday, which was called by two unions protesting against understaffing and "toxic management". The timing of the strike is particularly acute with Friday the final day of school in France before the summer holidays. At Paris airports, passengers stared at departure boards loaded with cancellations to assess their options. Some travellers appeared distraught. The strike was due to end Friday evening and no disruptions were expected on Saturday. France's DGAC civil aviation authority said 1,125 flights had been cancelled on Friday, compared to 933 flights on Thursday. French flag carrier Air France said its long-haul flights were not affected. The travel disruption also affected hotels. Many travellers cancelled hotel bookings, particularly in cities with large airports such as Nice and Paris, according to the UMIH hotel and restaurant union. "There's a bit of panic among those arriving and those leaving, airlines are trying to rebook their customers, it's complicated to manage and it's going to cost them a lot," Veronique Siegel of the UMIH union told AFP. In the Mediterranean city of Nice, the airport said 200 trips had been cancelled on Thursday, and 220 on Friday, affecting 50,000 passengers. The government condemned the strike. "Choosing the day when everyone goes on holiday to go on strike at air traffic control is taking the French hostage," Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told broadcaster BFMTV. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said the strike was "unacceptable". "Yesterday and today, 272 people in our country will impact the well-being of more than 500,000 people," he told broadcaster CNews, referring to the number of workers on strike. UNSA-ICNA, the second-largest labour group in the sector, launched an action to protest against "chronic understaffing", the introduction of a clocking-in system, outdated equipment, and "toxic management practices that are incompatible with the requirements of calm and safety".
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Second day of travel chaos as French air traffic controllers strike
A strike by French air traffic controllers brought a second day of chaos to European skies Friday, with flights for hundreds of thousands of people cancelled as the summer holiday season gathered pace. More than 1,100 flights arriving or leaving France and hundreds that were to fly over the country were cancelled Friday, according to official figures. Paris airports were even more severely affected than on the first day of the strike on Thursday, which was called by two unions protesting against understaffing and "toxic management". The timing of the strike is particularly acute with Friday the final day of school in France before the summer holidays. At Paris airports, passengers stared at departure boards loaded with cancellations to assess their options. Some travellers appeared distraught. Sabrina Taristas, 42, was set to fly to the southern French city of Toulouse. "We can't go against the strike but it's true that it's a real inconvenience for us travellers," she told AFP. The strike was due to end Friday evening and no disruptions were expected on Saturday. France's DGAC civil aviation authority said 1,125 flights had been cancelled on Friday, compared to 933 flights on Thursday. French flag-carrier Air France said its long-haul flights were not affected. The travel disruption also affected hotels. Many travellers cancelled hotel bookings, particularly in cities with large airports such as Nice and Paris, according to the UMIH hotel and restaurant union. "There's a bit of panic among those arriving and those leaving, airlines are trying to rebook their customers, it's complicated to manage and it's going to cost them a lot," Veronique Siegel of the UMIH union told AFP. In the Mediterranean city of Nice, the airport said 200 trips had been cancelled on Thursday, and 220 on Friday, affecting 50,000 passengers. The government condemned the strike. "Choosing the day when everyone goes on holiday to go on strike at air traffic control is taking the French hostage," Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told broadcaster BFMTV. - 'Unacceptable' - Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said the strike was "unacceptable". "Yesterday and today, 272 people in our country will impact the well-being of more than 500,000 people," he told broadcaster CNews, referring to the number of the workers on strike. UNSA-ICNA, the second biggest labour group in the sector, launched the action to protest against "chronic understaffing", the introduction of a clocking-in system, outdated equipment and "toxic management practices that are incompatible with the requirements of calm and safety". The third largest union, USAC-CGT, joined the strike but not the main SNCTA union. The effects of the strike were 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. A4E chief Ourania Georgoutsakou said Thursday that "the actions of a minority of French air traffic control workers" would "needlessly disrupt the holiday plans of thousands of people in France and across Europe". The association said the strikes 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. Chief executive Michael O'Leary has urged 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," he said. Around 30 flights at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam were cancelled while others were delayed on Friday due to the strikes, an airport spokesperson said. "Around 30 flights have been cancelled today by airlines as a precaution," the spokesperson said. tq-sjw-ah-as/phz
News24
6 days ago
- News24
Travel chaos: French air traffic strike strands 300 000 passengers as summer holidays begin
French air traffic controllers staged a two-day strike affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers, with around 1 000 flights cancelled on Friday. The strike caused ripple effects across Europe with 1 500 total flight cancellations affecting 300 000 passengers, including 400+ Ryanair cancellations and disruptions. Two minority unions called the strike to protest chronic understaffing, outdated equipment, toxic management practices, and a new clock-in system. French air traffic controllers staged the second day of a two-day strike on Friday, prompting the cancellation of flights affecting hundreds of thousands of people not just to-and-from France but also overflying the country as summer holidays kick off. Paris airports were 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. The timing of the strike is particularly acute with Friday the final day of school in France before the summer holidays and many families planning an early getaway. 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. The proportion of cancellations rose to 25% at the main airports in Paris. Around 1 000 flights had been cancelled on Friday morning, after the DGAC asked companies to cancel 40% of flights to deal with the strike. The government has condemned the strike, with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou telling BFMTV that "choosing the day when everyone goes on holiday to go on strike at air traffic control is taking the French hostage." 'Unacceptable' Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot told CNews that "yesterday and today, 272 people in our country will impact the well-being of more than 500 000 people". "This is unacceptable," he said. UNSA-ICNA, the second biggest labour group in the sector, launched the action to protest against "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". It was joined by the third largest union, USAC-CGT but the main union, SNCTA, has not joined the action. 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. The association said the strikes also caused "almost 500 000 minutes" in delays in Europe on Thursday on nearly 33 000 commercial flights. 'Stuck' Ryanair, Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers, said it had cancelled more than 400 flights. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary urged the EU Commission to protect such overflights by law in case of strikes. He said: 'Of these 400 flight cancellations, 350 would not be cancelled if the EU protected overflights over France.' "Of these 400 flight cancellations, 350 would not be cancelled if the EU protected overflights over France," he said. 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." Lara, 30, was scheduled to take a flight from Paris to Berlin with her partner to visit friends. "The flight was scheduled for Thursday evening, but we were informed on Wednesday that it had been cancelled. We had been able to get another ticket for free, for Friday evening, but that was also cancelled," she told AFP, adding they had to buy more expensive train tickets. Around 30 flights at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam were cancelled while others were delayed on Friday due to the strikes, an airport spokesperson said in an email to AFP. "Around 30 flights have been cancelled today by airlines as a precaution," the spokesperson said. "We expect a return to regular operations this weekend as the strikes are expected to end." Airline KLM said the strikes have caused operational irregularities including delays and two flight cancellations.
