Air France pilots set strike dates

AIR FRANCE pilots are set to go on strike between September 15 and 22, as part of the ongoing dispute over the airline’s reorganisation plans.

Domestic and European flights will be affected if the strike, called by the SNPL Alpa, goes ahead.

As reported, the union had threatened the walkout earlier this week.

The union says it is not against the planned overhaul of Air France-KLM, but says its members are being left out of discussions as it looks to strengthen its offering of short-haul and budget flights.

In recent years, it has launched regional Hop! and low-cost Transavia services to combat competition from the likes of easyJet and Ryanair.

“The threat to our jobs is too dangerous,” Jean-Louis Barber, president of the SNPL told AFP earlier this week.

"We had the feeling that everything was decided in advance.”

The union fears some routes will be disappear altogether as part of the reorganisation, while there are disputes over which carriers within the group – and which pilots – should be used for shorter routes.

It said it wants Air France to create a single pool of pilots to fly across all its airlines.