Strike by French air traffic controllers disrupts summer travel / Photo: © AFP/File
-
Schools closed as Indonesia battles wildfires
-
Wallabies lock Amatosero given three-match ban for Japan red card
-
Swiatek dominates Shnaider to set up Toronto semi with Svitolina
-
Swiatek races into Toronto semis as Svitolina battles through
-
Oil prices rise further as hopes for Hormuz deal fade
-
'Big Four' bowlers back as ageing Australia begin gruelling run
-
One year after Putin-Trump summit, 'spirit of Anchorage' dissipated
-
AI's hunger for power sparks US private gas plant boom
-
Farage vs Count Binface: What to know about UK snap poll
-
Memphis AI data center fuels pollution fight in Black neighborhood
-
Torment of Afghan fathers as daughters deprived of education
-
Ceuta leader wants migrant detention centre after influx
-
Return of displaced Syrian Kurds to hometown suspended after violence
-
Colombia scrambles to find survivors as quake kills 111
-
Swiatek races past Shnaider into Toronto semi-finals
-
Rain postponements wreck Montreal Masters schedule
-
Meta pushes global AI vision amid race with OpenAI, Anthropic and China
-
Notts Forest owner Marinakis sues Palace over gun banner - reports
-
US judge ends graft case against India's Adani
-
Koech gets three-year ban, stripped of US 1,500m title
-
Anderson retires after 10 MLB seasons after 'too much pain'
-
Sensational Ingebrigtsen back with more European gold
-
Colombia in state of emergency as quake kills 111
-
'A scare': Brazil player leaps into tunnel in joy over goal
-
Britain's Amy Hunt wins European women's 100m gold
-
USA Swimming CFO Hilliard arrested for alleged theft
-
Trump order pushes for overhaul of childhood vaccine schedule
-
Trump insists Netanyahu relationship 'very good' despite Gaza rift
-
Global stocks mixed while oil prices jump on Hormuz
-
Ingebrigtsen delivers masterclass for seventh European athletics gold
-
Turkey MPs back historic law on reintegrating Kurdish militants
-
Colombia declares state of emergency after quake kills 111
-
'Dreams disappear' as Gaza students await evacuation to Italy
-
Golden relay double for Britain at Europeans as Marchand takes silver
-
Third European gold for Schilder in women's shot put
-
Barcelona's Araujo heads to Liverpool on loan
-
Golden relay double for Britain at Europeans as Marchand settles for silver
-
Tupac Shakur murder trial begins 30 years after rapper's death
-
US had hottest month on record in July
-
Russia bars only anti-war party from elections
-
Colombia quake leaves 69 dead, with more trapped under rubble
-
Boeing to divest tech ventures for stake in air-taxi startup
-
Bookmap Announces Partnership with Plus500 to Expand Futures Trading Access
-
Major quake rocks Colombia and neighbors, 18 confirmed dead
-
Barcelona turn down PSG offer for Torres
-
Brazil aircraft maker Embraer raises outlook after record revenue
-
Buildings collapse as major quake rocks Colombia and neighbors
-
Drought forces water restrictions across nearly 70 percent of France
-
Meta releases new AI model as Zuckerberg lays out vision
-
Europe wary as gas stocks languish at lows while winter looms
Strike by French air traffic controllers disrupts summer travel
French air traffic controllers launched a two-day strike on Thursday to demand better working conditions, disrupting travel for tens of thousands of people at the start of a summer holiday season.
The DGAC civil aviation authority has asked airlines to cancel some of their flights to ensure there are enough controllers on duty.
The strike affected air traffic across Western Europe.
Ryanair, Europe's largest airline, said on Thursday it was forced to cancel 170 flights, affecting 30,000 passengers.
"Once again, European families are being held hostage by French air traffic controllers," said Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary.
The Airlines for Europe association, which includes Ryanair, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, British Airways and EasyJet, described the action as "intolerable".
According to sources familiar with the matter, 270 air traffic controllers out of a total workforce of around 1,400 went on strike.
UNSA-ICNA, the second biggest labour group in the sector, launched the action to demand better working conditions and more staff. It was joined by the third largest union, USAC-CGT.
Shortly after 10 am on Thursday, flights were experiencing significant delays, including an average of 1.5 hours for arrivals and 1 hour for departures in Nice, France's third-largest airport.
A quarter of flights departing from or arriving at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly have also been cancelled.
Airports in the south were particularly hit. In addition to Nice, 30 percent of flights have been cancelled in cities including Lyon, Marseille, and Montpellier.
On the eve of the school holidays on Friday, the situation is expected to become even more tense at Paris airports and Beauvais, where the DGAC has ordered a 40-percent reduction in the number of flights.
On Thursday morning, the Eurocontrol monitoring agency warned airlines of "significant" delays in the airspace managed by the air traffic control centres in Marseille, Brest and Reims.
Sources said that business aviation, particularly in Nice and Le Bourget near Paris, has also been significantly affected.
France's transport minister called the unions' demands unacceptable.
"The demands made by minority unions are unacceptable, as is the decision to hold this strike at the start of the holiday season," Philippe Tabarot said on Wednesday.
W.Huber--VB
