EasyJet cabin crew threaten strikes throughout August in France

Passengers travelling with easyJet to or from France this month could face disruption after cabin crew unions filed a new strike notice. 

The notice, announced on Tuesday, August 4, via a press release, applies to all of the airline’s French bases covering August 7 to September 2.

However, this does not mean cabin crew will be on strike continuously throughout this period. Instead, it gives unions the legal right to call strike action on selected days throughout this period.

Up until now, no strike has been announced and the unions said that any strike dates will be announced at least 48 hours in advance. 

The development comes after an earlier strike notice filed in July was temporarily suspended due to the major wildfires in Gironde and Landes, with union leaders saying they did not want to hinder the return of residents affected by the fires. 

However, now that the situation is stabilised, they have decided to resume the dispute. 

Why are easyJet cabin crew threatening to strike?

The three unions representing easyJet France cabin crew, SNPNC-FO, UNAC-CFE-CGC and UNPNC-CFDT, said they remain willing to negotiate but that discussions with management have so far failed to produce satisfactory improvements.

They accuse the airline of allowing working conditions to deteriorate over the past year. The unions explained cabin crew are increasingly being moved from two flights to four in a day, switched between early and late duties at short notice and temporarily assigned to different operating bases. They also cite longer duty rotations, reduced rest because of delays and an increase in overnight flying on some bases.

"For a year we have been warning about the exhaustion of our crews. We are not asking for anything unprecedented: we are asking for what the company has already granted to pilots. We regret having reached this point, but our colleagues simply cannot continue like this," Gaël Leloup, UNAC-CFE-CGC easyJet union representative said in a press release sent to The Connexion. 

The unions said the strike notice could still be withdrawn if easyJet presents what they describe as "clear, concrete and meaningful" proposals during negotiations.

UNPNC-CFDT added that it wants talks to begin "without delay" to avoid a wider social dispute whose first victims would be passengers.

EasyJet 'very disappointed'

EasyJet previously said it was "very disappointed" when the unions had filed the strike notice back in July despite measures it said had already been proposed to address cabin crew concerns.

The airline said further negotiations are already scheduled for September and urged unions to withdraw the strike notice which has been filed during one of the busiest periods of the year for passengers.

What passengers should do

No flights have yet been cancelled and there are currently no confirmed strike days.

Passengers set to travel with easyJet during the strike notice period should:

• check the status of their flight regularly through the easyJet website or app

• monitor emails and text messages from the airline for updates

If strikes are called and flights are cancelled, affected passengers should be contacted directly by the airline with their available options.