Easyjet hit by a second walkout

BUDGET airline easyJet has cancelled 26% of its flights in France today, as the holiday-week strike by cabin crew enters its second.

Lyon, Roissy and Nice will bear the brunt of the disruption today.

Yesterday 70 flights were cancelled today, including 24 departures from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, 14 from Orly, 20 from Lyon, six from Nice, four from Toulouse and two from Lille.

The latest walkout heaps more travel misery on easyJet passengers, who faced similar problems on December 26, when 38 flights were cancelled during the first cabin crew walkout in a protest over profit sharing and rotas.

As reported, cabin crew unions called for a second two-day strike after negotiations between unions and management broke down. Unions complain that easyJet is making too many late changes to cabin crew schedules, and oppose basing bonus payments on customer satisfaction.

The airline has confirmed that British staff have been brought in to minimise disruption for a second time.

It also said passengers whose flights fall within the strike period will have been contacted by easyJet and can either receive a full refund or book an alternative date free of charge, and advised passengers hoping to fly to check the status of their flight on the airline’s flight-tracker web page before travelling to the airport.

Photo: Jason Puddephatt