Travel chaos as French strikes force Ryanair and Aer Lingus to cancel flights
Travel Tips & Advice
Airplane stock photo: Deposit Photos
Hundreds of thousands of passengers are facing travel chaos due to a new wave of French ATC union strikes.
The strikes are forcing Ryanair to cancel 22 flights on Wednesday, September 14 and 72 flights on Thursday, September 15, it has confirmed.
Aer Lingus has also cancelled 10 flights on Thursday:
Among Ryanair's cancelled services are Dublin/Murcia (FR7094 & FR7095) on Wednesday - the full list of affected flights is available here.
The strikes are the 14th to be called by French ATC unions this year as a result of long-running disputes with the government over staffing and pay.
Both airlines have apologised to disrupted customers, who will be contacted by email and SMS text message and advised of their options.
Passengers whose flights are cancelled can avail of a full refund, rebooking onto the next available flight, or rebooking onto an alternative route.
Read more:
Dealing with the fallout from the latest in over 50 French ATC strikes since 2009, Ryanair has again called on the European Commission to take action.
It, and other European airlines, are calling on the EC to require ATC unions to engage in binding arbitration instead of strikes and to allow Europe’s other ATCs to operate overflights while unions strike, among other measures.
Ryanair is seeking one million signatures for a petition at keepeuropesskiesopen.com, which it plans to present to the EC.
“It's reprehensible that Europe’s consumers repeatedly have their holiday and travel plans disrupted or cancelled by the selfish actions of ATC unions, who use strikes as a first weapon rather than a last resort," said Robin Kiely, the airline's Head of Communications.
"This French ATC strike will impact hundreds of thousands of European consumers and throw their travel plans into chaos once more."
Customers are advised to check their flight status before travel.
Read more:
Join the Irish Independent WhatsApp channel
Stay up to date with all the latest news
