Ryanair has been forced to cancel nearly 100 flights scheduled to depart from British airports on Thursday, June 6, due to an “inexplicable” strike by French air traffic controllers. The unexpected cancellations may cause as many as 100 flights to the UK, according to reports from the “Mirror“ affect thousands of holidaymakers.
According to the low-cost airline, travelers who have booked their flights through Paris Beauvais Airport are particularly affected by the cancellations. The exact number of canceled connections cannot be predicted because it is not clear how many employees will follow the union’s call. This is already the 84th day of strike in France since 2023.
Ryanair calls on the EU Commission to act
The airline said in a statement his incomprehension about the never-ending wave of strikes in France: “It is inexplicable that Ursula von der Leyen and the EU Commission did nothing to protect the freedom of travel of EU passengers during the repeated strikes by French air traffic control. As a result, we are forced to cancel nearly 100 flights to and from Paris Beauvais tomorrow, Thursday 6 June, thereby disrupting the travel plans of thousands of EU passengers at short notice,” the group explains.
The spokesman also stressed that “BirminghamLive“that EU passengers are tired of having to accept unnecessary cancellations during the ATC strikes. Ryanair is appealing to the EU Commission to Petition “Protect Passengers – Keep EU Skies Open” which was signed by more than 2.1 million EU citizens and sent directly to the offices of the EU Commission.
Effects of the strike are still unclear
Ryanair organizes flights to Paris-Beauvais from several British airports, including Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Edinburgh and Belfast. The exact extent of the disruption depends on how many air traffic controllers follow the call of the UNSA-ICNA union. Other French airports are not affected, reports the Mirror.
It is therefore not known which flights will be cancelled, so passengers must find out the exact status of their flight before travelling. Paris-Beauvais Airport has meanwhile issued a Travel warning and announced that “significant disruptions to the flight schedule” are to be expected. Passengers should contact their airline for information on the status of their flight.
Air traffic controllers plan further strikes
The air traffic controllers’ union at Paris’ Orly airport has also announced a strike, to be held from June 11 to 13. The extent of the disruption will depend on how many air traffic controllers join UNSA-ICNA’s call. A strike by the same union two weeks ago resulted in a 70 percent cancellation rate on flights to and from Orly airport.
In the past, there have been increasing calls for strikes by airport staff in France, which have disrupted air traffic across Europe. Just last year, hundreds of flights had to be cancelled when French air traffic controllers at Paris-Orly, Marseille and Beauvais airports went on strike.
This also affected flights that simply crossed French airspace, for example on the way from Germany to Spain. Among other things, the air traffic controllers demanded higher wages.