SOME 2,000 passengers who were due to travel to and from France yesterday found themselves grounded due to strike action by air traffic controllers in France.
Ryanair, Aer Lingus and Air France flights to and from Dublin and Cork were cancelled by the strike but all passengers were to be accommodated on other flights either yesterday evening or today.
Eight Ryanair flights were cancelled yesterday on its Dublin/Biar-ritz, Dublin/Marseille and Dublin/ Carcasonne routes as well as its Cork/Carcasonne route with about 1,200 passengers affected.
Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said that, while many people were to be accommodated on the later flights, passengers could also choose to avail of a full refund or to be rerouted.
Although the strike was due to finish this morning at 4am Irish time, he advised passengers travelling today to check the Ryanair site to ensure that no further cancellations had taken place.
More than 600 Aer Lingus passengers had their flights cancelled on the airline’s Dublin/Paris and Dublin/Nice routes yesterday.
Affected passengers on the EI524 flight from Dublin to Paris and the return EI525 flight from Paris were accommodated on a larger aircraft which Aer Lingus put on yesterday evening. Passengers travelling on the Dublin/Nice route, with flight numbers EI544 and EI545 are to be accommodated on a larger aircraft today. A spokeswoman said they were not expecting further cancellations.
Air France, which operates flights from Dublin to Paris Charles de Gaulle cancelled yesterday’s AF5011 flight from Dublin to Paris and AF5000 flight from Paris to Dublin. A spokesman said passengers would be accommodated on later flights.