Strikes to disrupt air travel next week
Air travellers face disruption next week as French air controllers have called five days of strikes from Monday.
The strikes are planned for Bordeaux and Brest control centres from Monday to Friday and Aix-en-Provence centre from Tuesday to Thursday.
The Eurocontrol coordination centre has asked airlines to prepare cuts in their flight schedules – cutting 25% of the flights heading south and west from Paris airports on Monday to Friday and 33% of these flights from Tuesday to Thursday.
Airports controlled from Bordeaux and Aix/Marseille also face cuts of 25% in all flights on Monday to Friday and those from Brest face cuts of 33% on the same days.
The strikes will not only impact flights to and from France but will also cause disruption to flights using French airspace, including flights to Spain, Portugal and the Canaries.
Passengers travelling next week should contact their airline for information.
EasyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall said that 2016 was the “worst year for air traffic control strikes” while Michael O’Leary of Ryanair said that over the past six years there had been an average of one day of strike action every nine days.
Meanwhile, both Air France and British Airways face strikes from their own staff next week, with some Air France pilots, cabin crew and ground staff walking out on March 7 and British Airways cabin crew on strike all week – although the company says only 0.4% of flights will be affected.
