300 flights have been cancelled by Ryanair, impacting tens of thousands of passengers amid a major aviation strike.
Ryanair is one of the airlines most impacted by the industrial action as French air traffic controllers (ATC) chose to walk out after authorities failed to reach an agreement. France’s DGAC civil aviation authority announced that it had asked airlines to cancel 75% of Thursday's flights at Paris Orly airport, 55% of flights at Paris Charles-De-Gaulle and 65% of flights at Marseille.
The reduction in capability due to the strike is also affecting those flights going into and over the country.
Although SNCTA, the biggest of France's air traffic controllers union, had announced plans to call off the strike having reached a deal over working conditions, it seemed it was too late to avoid air traffic disruptions today (April 25).
The budget airline and its boss Michael O'Leary had been in a rift with the French ATC workers and unions.
In press conferences the Ryanair CEO regularly also blames French laws for "prioritising" domestic flights when ATC workers strike. He has been pushing for an EU law change so that planes flying over France on strike days are protected.
On Wednesday, Mr 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 5 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.”
Passengers are advised to check their airline's website for cancellations and delays, as UK flights to and from France may be affected.
A4E says that 16,000 flights were cancelled and 85,000 delayed last year due to air traffic control strikes in Europe.
