One out of every two flights departing or arriving at Paris-Orly airport was canceled this Saturday afternoon due to the unforeseen strike of air traffic controllers, who are challenging the French government’s pension proposal.
“Taking into account that several strikers are observed in the air navigation organization of Orly”, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) has “asked airlines to reduce their flight schedule by 50% from 13:00” (12:00 in Lisbon), the management said in a statement.
The other major airport in the Paris region, Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, is not affected by this interruption, as are the air navigation centers that guide planes already flying over French territory, DGAC assured.
According to airport sources quoted by AFP, these cancellations represent “25 arrivals and 22 departures” of aircraft at Orly, mainly on domestic routes and with countries in the Schengen zone.
In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of French people have demonstrated in the streets against the reform of the pension system proposed by President Emmanuel Macron.
The government proposal is in the National Assembly, but Minister Elisabeth Borne already warned that the increase in the retirement age, currently 62 years and which could evolve to 64 or even 65, “is not negotiable”.
Source: DN
