A strike by French air traffic controllers compelled Ryanair to call off 300 flights on Thursday, negatively affecting approximately 50,000 travellers. The industrial action, which is part of ongoing salary disputes between the French air traffic controllers’ unions and their governing body, DGAC, threatens to cause disruption to European flights.
By Wednesday evening, cancellation of over 40 flights, slated to either arrive at or set off from Irish airports, was announced in anticipation of the impending French strikes. These cancellations cover 38 flights at Dublin Airport, most of which are outbound or inbound to France, save for Ryanair flights between Basel, Switzerland and Dublin. The Swiss destination is closely positioned to the French border.
Ryanair representatives conveyed that the strikes might result in consequential delays, even for flights that are not cancelled. Out of the cancelled flights at Dublin Airport, 23 are departures, primarily operated by Ryanair, although several Aer Lingus, Vueling Airlines, Air France, and Transavia France flights are likewise impacted.
The affected locations include numerous French cities, including Paris, Carcassonne, La Rochelle, and Nice, among others. Additionally, 15 flights set to arrive at Dublin Airport from these destinations on Thursday were cancelled. Two Air France flights at Cork Airport and an Aer Lingus flight from Shannon Airport were also cancelled.
Ryanair affirmed on Wednesday that this industrial dispute necessitated the cancellation of approximately 300 flights, inconveniencing around 50,000 passengers intending to fly with the Irish carrier. The airline’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, expressed that operations navigating from Ireland to Italy, as well as flights headed for Southern Europe from Germany and Scandinavia, would be impacted.
The airline refrained from providing a detailed list of services that would be cancelled due to the strike. French air traffic control strikes often result in significant disruptions, given that numerous flights between other states traverse French airspace without landing or taking off within the country.
The inconvenience caused by Thursday’s disruption resulted in Mr. O’Leary renewing calls for the European Commission and its President, Ursula von der Leyen, to safeguard flights passing through French airspace and prevent 90 per cent of cancellations.
“The entitlement of French air traffic controllers to strike was not challenged by Mr O’Leary, but he strongly asserted that cancelling French flights would be a more logical course of action, rather than disrupting services from countries like Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Scandinavia. He urged European election voters in June to insist that their MEPs and the Commission take action to safeguard overflights.
Greece, Italy, and Spain all enable overflights during air traffic control strikes, unlike France, which also safeguards their domestic services. Ryanair hopes for the Commission’s intervention to guarantee that France allows overflights during strikes and permits other European air traffic controllers to handle those services when work stoppage occurs.
Uncertainty filled the air as news circulated about the anticipated French strike on Wednesday, implying that the largest air traffic control union, the SNCTA, had come to an agreement with the aviation authorities and would report back to work. The stance of two lesser-known unions remained unclear as of Wednesday evening. Airlines for Europe, an industry representative, cautioned airlines to anticipate flight cancellations due to lack of “full clarity” on the French air traffic control capabilities.
Ourania Georgoutsakou, the organisation’s managing director, indicated that these recent disruptions show the necessity for an EU protocol to minimize impact from air traffic control strikes and guarantee reliable information on capacity. A total of 20 million travellers were inconvenienced by air traffic control strikes the previous year.”