Several leading European airlines on Wednesday expressed exasperation with strikes by French air traffic controllers that they say are costing them dearly by causing delays and cancellations, and called on the European Commission to intervene. “During the first three months of last year there were three days of strikes by French air traffic controllers. Since the beginning of the year we are at 23. And it continues”, launched the head of the airline “low cost” Ryanair. , Michael O’Leary, on behalf of the “Airlines for Europe” (A4E) association meeting at a symposium in Brussels.
Air traffic controllers participate in the challenge of pension reform in France, forcing the administration to cancel part of the movements with departure or arrival at airports, but also to reduce the number of flights that can pass through the airspace of the country.
Nearly 450,000 Ryanair passengers affected last weekend
Given France’s geographical position, these strikes have cascading effects on all European air traffic: “The British go to Spain, the Germans go to Portugal, the Irish go to Italy,” Michael O’Leary illustrated. Just last weekend, “Ryanair was forced to cancel 240 flights, or 41,000 passengers, because French air control wouldn’t let us fly over France,” Michael O’Leary said angrily. Some 400,000 low-cost passengers were delayed, he said.
A4E asks the EU executive to impose protection against overflights
European regulations oblige airlines to compensate passengers in the event of long delays or cancellations, recalled the director of Ryanair, the largest European company by number of passengers.
A4E, which brings together 16 airlines or groups, including Air France-KLM, Lufthansa and IAG (British Airways, Iberia, etc.), asks the European Commission to impose protection on overflights in the event of a strike air traffic controllers, a measure that already exists, for example, in Italy, according to Michael O’Leary. More generally, for the upcoming summer season, carriers, facing reinvigorated demand after Covid-19, have raised concerns about the saturation of European airspace, already weakened by war-related closures in Ukraine.
Source: BFM TV
