Hundreds of passengers face flight delays and cancellations

Ryanair has condemned the "selfish actions" of the French aviation unions responsible for this week's industrial action, which has caused lengthy delays and cancellations for flights between Ireland and France.

Hundreds of passengers flying with Ryanair, Aer Lingus and British Airways will continue to face flight cancellations up until Tuesday, due to prolonged strikes being carried out by air traffic control in France.

Sixteen flights in and out of Dublin airport were cancelled on Sunday and at least 16 more were due to be cancelled on Monday as a result of three days of industrial action in France.

Aer Lingus was forced to cancel flights to Madrid and Barcelona on Sunday while Ryanair cancelled at least eight flights on Monday from Dublin to French and Spanish destinations . The airline also cancelled hundreds of flights between airports across Europe. The disruption is expected to continue until the industrial action ends later this week.

In response, Ryanair has called on the French Government and the European Commission to intervene in order to prevent British passengers being “held to ransom” by “tiny numbers” of French workers.

Ryanair also pointed out that the strikes were affecting flights overflying France, meaning that travellers whose whose flights neither take-off from or land in a French airport are also suffering.

The airline is now urging its customers to sign a petition to the European Commission, which it hopes will bring to an end the “repeated blackmail and disruption by ATC unions”.

Robin Kiely, head of communications at Ryanair, said the strikes were “unwarranted” and “grossly unfair”.

“Due to yet another French ATC strike — the 41st such strike since 2009 — we regret that we were forced to cancel a number of flights on Sunday, with further flights cancelled on Monday, and delays likely,” he added.

“It’s grossly unfair that thousands of ordinary European consumers have their travel and holiday plans disrupted by the actions of a selfish few.

"We also encourage any affected customers to sign our online petition, Keep Europe's Skies Open."

The Ryanair flights cancelled on Sunday were two flights from Dublin to Barcelona and flights to Paris Beauvais, Nantes, Valencia and Malaga. Flights from the same destinations to Dublin were also cancelled. Aer Lingus cancelled flights to and from Madrid and Barcelona.

Ryanair has urged its customers to log on to its website at www.ryanair.com for more information. In a statement on its website, the airline said customers would be updated on their flight status via email and/or the mobile phone number provided at the time of booking.

Aer Lingus has said customers will be either put on the next available flight or get a full refund. A spokesman also advised customers to monitor their flight status at aerlingus.com.

Additional reporting rom PA