Ryanair French flights disrupted due to one-day strike

Flights to and from France face disruption today due to a strike by air traffic controllers that has prompted Ryanair, easyJet and Lufthansa to scale back their normal schedule.

France's DGAC civil aviation authority said it urged airlines to cut services by 10 per cent, particularly on links between France and Spain, Portugal and North Africa.

Ryanair and British operator easyJet said they would have to cut about 30 per cent of French flights as a result of the one-day protest over plans for changes to air traffic control practices at European level.

Ryanair said it would be scrapping 70 flights today, including two in and out of Ireland: FR22 Dublin-Paris Beauvais and FR23 Paris Beauvais-Dublin.

In a statement on the Ryanair website, the company said the strike action was likely to affect flights passing over France also, and passengers should be prepared for further delays and cancellations.

Customers booked to travel today will be notified of the status of their flight by email. Those due to travel on a cancelled flight can transfer free of charge to the next available Ryanair flight, or apply for a refund.

Aer Lingus said they still plan to run their full schedule of flights, but passengers will be updated by email or text message if cancellations or delays arise.

In a statement, easyJet said: "EasyJet has been asked by the DGAC to reduce its French flights by 30 per cent and as a result will cancel at least 50 flights to and from Paris Charles de Gaulle, Paris Orly, Basel, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseilles and Toulouse."

About 70 per cent of EasyJet’s flights operate through French airspace, meaning there is a risk of delays and late notice cancellations to many other flights, the airline said.

Flights from the UK to destinations such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Greece and North Africa face the threat of disruption, it added.

While European air traffic controller unions have lifted a strike call, two French unions representing about a quarter of all controllers in France maintained stoppage plans after talks with the civil aviation authority failed.

Meanwhile, German airline Lufthansa said it would reduce its flights to and from the French cities of Lyon and Marseille but that it believed flights to and from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport would not be affected.

Reuters