More than 50% of flights canceled on Friday in France; All airlines affected

The French Federation of Air Traffic Controllers (SNCTA) has announced a 24-hour strike from 6 a.m. on September 16 to 6 a.m. on September 17, affecting the entire airspace of that country, potentially delaying or canceling thousands of flights. in Europe. France has some of the biggest skies in Europe, with hundreds of planes flying daily to French airports or between countries on the Old Continent.

As in other European countries, unions are looking to rebuild their salaries after the pandemic due to rising inflation. SNCTA stated that the authorities did not make any concrete offers or guarantees on the orders.

The union reported that there is an increasing shortage of employees in various sectors, which is reflected in the increased workload, and the absence of new appointments in 2023 complicates the situation, Notifies the article on the Aviacionline website.

Tomorrow, Friday, French air control will enter a strike and force airlines to cancel 50% of flights to and from French airports.

As usual, significant delays are to be expected.https://t.co/krDfUYSJpi pic.twitter.com/R2MXjwIfPw

– Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 15, 2022

The General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) asked airlines flying over or operating in France to cancel half of their flights on Friday, September 16.

Air France announced that 55% of its short and medium-haul flights and 10% of its long-haul flights will be cancelled. The airline said it would notify affected passengers individually.

Ryanair urged the European Union to take immediate action to protect overflights in French airspace, and explained that it had to cancel 420 flights over France, affecting more than 80,000 passengers. The low-cost airline explained that French domestic flights are protected by minimum service laws, but overflights are not covered by this measure.

“The European Union should step in and protect flights so that passengers flying between Spain, Italy, Ireland, Germany, etc., are not affected simply because they are flying over France during the French ATC unions’ strike.” The Irish company commented.

EasyJet has also canceled hundreds of flights. “Like all airlines operating to/from French airports, easyJet anticipates some disruption to its flight schedule and the French aviation authority has requested that cancellations go ahead,” He said in a statement.

Transavia announced the cancellation of 140 flights, British Airways will cancel 22, and Brussels Airlines will cancel twelve more. Volotea is one of the companies worst affected, having canceled 64% of its operations in France.

If negotiations remain stagnant, the SNCTA threatens another three-day strike between September 28-30.