Flights disrupted as French air traffic controllers walk out

One airline says it has cancelled 55 per cent of its short- and medium-haul flights and 10 per cent of its long-haul flights

By AP

Published: Fri 16 Sep 2022, 2:15 PM

Last updated: Fri 16 Sep 2022, 2:16 PM

Many domestic and some international flights were cancelled in France on Friday as air traffic controllers went on a national strike over pay and recruitment issues.

French civil aviation authority DGAC warned that domestic traffic would be “severely disrupted” with many flights cancelled and other experiencing long delays. Travelers have been advised to postpone their trip if possible.

Air France said it has cancelled 55 per cent of its short- and medium-haul flights and 10 per cent of its long-haul flights. The company could not rule out further delays and last-minute cancellations, it said in a statement.

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Other companies operating in France — including Ryanair, Easyjet and Volotea — have also cancelled flights.

Mamadou Souré, 42, arrived Friday morning at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport from Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

"We were supposed to take a flight to Milan at 9:30 a.m. but it was canceled, but thank God we found a flight at 1:30 p.m. for Turin. We’ll see if we can make it to Milan from there,” he said.

Maria Oudon, from Orlando, Florida, was relieved to see her flight mentioned as “on time” on the airport's board. “We did spend all night worrying about it because they said to possibly change your flight or have other options. And we still came because we had to take our daughter to school,” she said.

France's main union of air traffic controllers, the SNCTA, called the one-day strike to demand higher pay amid soaring inflation and demanding more staff to be hired in the coming years.

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