Several Air France unions are calling for a strike on Tuesday to protest against the airline’s decision to largely abandon Paris-Orly airport, with the consequences of the move on flights unknown this Thursday.
FO, the first union representing society, defended in a brochure consulted on Thursday “the necessary response to the unprecedented weakening of our internal network” and considered that “serious social consequences are at stake.”
The company announced on October 18 that it planned to consolidate services to domestic destinations in Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG) in 2026, which would mean the elimination of six lines in Orly, where only connections with Corsica will remain.
It cited a “structural decline in demand” for short-haul travel due, in particular, to the development of video conferencing and the reduction in business travel.
“High price”
Like FO, the UNSA Aérien (third union organization) called to stop work and demonstrate on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. in Orly.
“The management wants 600 of its employees from its southern base to go to work at Roissy airport. Not only our colleagues, but also entire families, will pay a high price for this project,” the union wrote.
Also urging employees to strike, the CGT, Air France’s fifth union, denounced a project “synonymous with social destruction for ridiculous economic benefits.”
Like other unions, it wants Air France employees to be able to manage the movements of the group’s “low cost” planes, Transavia, which will take charge of part of the frequencies departing from Orly to Marseille, Nice and Toulouse.
Air France, for its part, estimates the number of ground employees and 170 maintenance employees affected in Orly at 430, in addition to a hundred in the region, and is committed to avoiding forced departures.
The CFE-CGC-UNAC, the fourth union, explained to AFP that it joined the mobilization “but not the strike movement at this stage,” but demanded support measures “to face the challenge.”
On Thursday, Air France management considered it “too early to know the impact of this move on operations” and promised that it “will do everything possible to transport all its customers.”
Basically, Air France stressed that it had reached an agreement with the unions on the negotiation framework and confirmed its “commitment (…) to better support all affected employees.”
Source: BFM TV
