Taxi drivers block Charles de Gaulle

TRAVELLERS flying out of Paris Charles de Gaulle today should allow extra time to get to the airport due to a strike by taxi drivers.

The Paris drivers' union began the blockade at 6.00 this morning to protest against plans to reorganise the airport's taxi rank later this month.

Aéroports de Paris is planning to make drivers wait for passengers at one big central rank - with a capacity of up to 1,000 cars. Until now, taxis have queued elsewhere on the terminal grounds and been dispatched to certain terminals based on flight arrival times.

A similar protest in December brought traffic to a standstill on the motorways from Charles de Gaulle and Orly airport to the middle of Paris and traffic congestion in the city centre - but today's strike appears to be confined to the airport itself.

Disruption is also likely for passengers arriving at Charles de Gaulle later today because of the nationwide SNCF rail strike, which runs for 36 hours from 20.00 tonight.

Half of the trains on the RER B linking the airport with the city centre are cancelled. See www.sncf.com and www.abcdtrains.com for the latest information.