French Air Traffic Controller Strike Triggers Hundreds of Flight Cancellations, Delays

A two-day strike by the union representing France’s air traffic controllers (ATC) is causing headaches for travelers this week, just as the high season for summer European travel begins.

The strike was called by France’s second-largest ATC union, UNSA-ICNA, which said it was striking over understaffing and equipment issues. According to the AFP, close to 300 of the 1,400 ATC workers were on strike starting at 10 a.m. local time Thursday.

The strike was having an impact immediately. According to FlightAware, flight cancellations and delays were piling up at Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), with 69 flights canceled as of noon local time Thursday. Other impacted airports include Nice Côte d’Azur (NCE) with 68 cancellations, Paris Orly (ORY) with 38, Marseille (MRS) with 24, and Lyon (LYS) with 19.

Ryanair, which operates the most flights in Europe, said it had to cancel 170 flights total, impacting 30,000 passengers. Those numbers include not just flights originating or ending in France, but also other flights flying through French airspace. This is due to France’s continued failure to protect overflights during national ATC strikes, meaning even passengers flying, for example, from the U.K. to Greece, or Spain to Ireland, are being affected.

Other airlines being impacted include EasyJet, another low-cost carrier, which said it would cancel close to 300 flights between Thursday and Friday. Air France and British Airways, two of the legacy carriers expected to be impacted the most by the strike, both said they made adjustments ahead of the strike but are still being affected.

More than 10% of Air France’s entire schedule on Thursday has been canceled, and another 20%, or 129 flights total, has been delayed. The cancellations are fewer for British Airways, with 21 total or just 2% of its schedule, but another 17%, or 125 flights, have been delayed, according to FlightAware.