The air traffic controllers’ strike called for this Thursday in France will significantly affect aircraft traffic in the French country, whose airports will have to cancel, on average, 60% of their flights, as announced by the French authorities. Airlines such as Ryanair, Iberia, Volotea and Air Europa have been forced to cancel dozens of flights due to the strike in France. But it will also have a strong impact on flights departing from Spain. The airline association ALA estimates that up to 50% of planes taking off from Spanish airports could suffer delays, apart from the cancellations they could cause.
The General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) detailed that 75% of the flights from the Parisian Orly, 65% from the capital’s Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (the main one in the country), 65% from Marseille will have to be cancelled. , 60% in Toulouse and 70% in Nice, among others, according to Europa Press.
This stoppage could be added to another that the controllers’ unions have announced for the next May 9, 10 and 11, coinciding with a period of festivities in France. The organizers of both strikes ask for a salary increase for the union.
Airlines such as Ryanair, Iberia, Volotea and Air Europa have had to cancel dozens of flights scheduled for this Thursday due to the strike announcement. The companies had already deployed contingency plans to mitigate the impact of the stoppages on their operations with the French country.
Ryanair has announced the cancellation of more than 300 flights globally as a result of the strike announcement. The Irish low-cost company has demanded in a statement that the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, take urgent measures to protect overflights. Iberia will cancel 26 flights with destinations such as Paris and Toulouse, as well as with other European destinations that fly over French airspace (London, Vienna, Milan, Venice and Geneva).
For its part, Air Nostrum will also cancel around a dozen flights and Air Europa has also announced the cancellation of six flights connecting Paris with Madrid and Palma de Mallorca. Other Spanish airlines such as Volotea, which have their main market in France, recognize that the strike will mean that they will have to cancel flights and modify schedules.
All companies claim to be in contact with their passengers to keep them informed at all times and offer them all the necessary options to ensure the minimum impact on their travel plans. Given this situation, the Association of Airlines (ALA) has reiterated this Wednesday its request to the European Union (EU) to protect flights that cross France during air traffic control strikes.
The Spanish employers argue that this strike could cause delays in almost 50% of the flights operated in Spain, of which 85% will not have origin or destination in France, but which would be affected as overflights are not protected. affecting passengers and airline companies, which would have to adapt their operations. ALA recalls that Spain is, after France, the country most affected by the strikes of French air traffic controllers, so the strike planned for tomorrow in all control centers in France would have a “very negative impact on thousands of flights.” .
The president of ALA, Javier Gándara, has stressed in a press release the need for the EU to “take a step forward” and force France to, as is happening in Italy or Spain, protect the overflights in French airspace. “We are captives of the French air traffic controllers every time they threaten a strike,” said Gándara, who explains that the airlines are conditioned by the expected impact of the strike, regardless of whether it is finally carried out or not.
The majority union of air traffic controllers in France or SNCTA has disassociated itself from the strike planned for this Thursday, according to a statement from the organization, although the other two unions calling for it, UNSA-ICNA and the USAC-CGT, maintain, for the moment , the call. Thus, the French General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) has warned on social networks that there will be delays and cancellations of air traffic from today until Friday at 6:00 a.m.
The strike will affect the airports of Paris-Orly, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Marseille, which both they and the DGAC have advised passengers to contact their airline to check the status of their flight. This stoppage in France could cause the cancellation of up to 70% of flights for the day of April 25, as reported yesterday by various local media such as ‘Le Parisien’ or ‘Le Monde’.
Spain is the second country, behind France, most affected by air traffic control strikes. According to the Association of Airlines (ALA), this Thursday’s strike could cause delays in 50% of the flights operated in Spain, of which 85% will have neither origin nor destination in France. That is why they have reiterated their request to the French authorities and the European Union (EU) to protect these overflights, which cause harm to both passengers and airlines in Spain.
The announcement of the strike is the result of the “failure of negotiations on accompanying measures for a review of air traffic control,” explained the French news agency AFP, which also noted that it was going to cause “major disruptions.” In addition, the majority union committee yesterday also issued a notice of new protests for May 9, 10 and 11, so it remains to be seen if they are finally called. With the next Olympic Games in Paris just around the corner, which will take place between July 26 and August 14, this conflict could threaten the proper functioning of the air service ahead of the Olympic event if they were to develop further. stops.
