French air traffic control strike called off, Ryanair reinstates flights
Low-cost airline boss asks European Commission to reform sector, calling its president Ursula ‘von Derlayed-Again’
Ryanair has confirmed that its schedule on October 7, 8 and 9 will continue as normal
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Ryanair has called off its proposed mass cancellation of flights on October 7, 8 and 9 after a proposed French air traffic control strike was cancelled.
The low-cost airline had said it would cancel up to 1,800 flights during the three-day period, affecting around 100,000 passengers.
Many of these flights simply fly over France but would have been seriously disrupted by the air traffic control strike when entering French airspace.
The airline has confirmed to The Connexion that these flights will now go ahead and that Ryanair "schedules will operate as normal" during the period.
The proposed cancellations were expected to cost Ryanair €23million, according to its chief executive Michael O’Leary.
The strike action, which would have seen controllers stop work from Tuesday morning until early Friday, was expected to disrupt thousands of flights across Europe.
However, on Saturday, October 4, the Syndicat national des contrôleurs du trafic aérien (SNCTA) announced that it would lift its strike notice for October 7-9 after reaching agreement with the Direction générale de l’aviation civile (DGAC).
‘Ursula von Derlayed-Again’
Ryanair has seized on the uncertainty surrounding the strike threat to step up its campaign against what it describes as chronic failings in Europe’s air traffic control system.
In a statement it said French controllers were responsible for more delays than any other country in the bloc, with 57,000 Ryanair flights affected since January, a rise of 66% compared with last year.
The company claims this has delayed journeys for more than 10 million passengers in the past year.
Spain and Germany follow France in Ryanair’s internal league table of flight disruption, with 34,000 and 16,000 delayed flights.
Ryanair has again urged the European Commission to intervene. The company mocked commission president Ursula von der Leyen as “Ursula von Derlayed-Again” and called for immediate reform, including recruitment of more controllers and protection of flights that pass through French airspace but do not land in the country.
Ryanair has also launched a website page, Air Traffic Control Ruined Your Flight, listing the email addresses of transport ministers in the countries it blames for disruption, including outgoing French minister Philippe Tabarot.
The airline is encouraging passengers to complain directly to governments in the hope of building pressure for reform.
“We’re calling again on Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president … If she’s not willing to defend the single market, if she’s not willing to protect overflights, then she should go,” said Mr O’Leary.
The Ryanair CEO has previously suggested that Eurocontrol, the international organisation that oversees air traffic control services in the EU, should be able to ensure overflights are not disrupted by national air traffic control strikes.
