A thousand flights cancelled in France this Friday, the second day of the air traffic controllers' strike

The end of the school year in France this Friday means trouble for vacationers who were planning to travel by plane: a thousand flights were still canceled on Friday, July 4, particularly at Paris airports, on the second day of an air traffic controller strike.

"We must realize that yesterday and today, 272 people in our country will impact the well-being of more than 500,000 people. This is unacceptable," Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said Friday morning on CNews.

Hundreds of thousands of people in France and Europe were already affected by this social movement on Thursday, triggered by two minority unions demanding improved working conditions and increased staffing levels.

Lara, 30, was due to fly from Paris to Berlin with her partner to visit friends. "The flight was scheduled for Thursday evening, but we were informed on Wednesday that it had been cancelled. We had been able to get another ticket for free, for Friday evening, but that too was cancelled," she told AFP.

"We had to buy train tickets urgently. The result was an extra cost of 100 euros and several hours of extra travel time," she says.

Around 1,000 flights were cancelled on Friday, both departing and arriving in France, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, compared to 933 on Thursday.

"A catastrophe," Laurent Abitbol, ​​chairman of the board of Selectour travel agencies, denounced on France Inter on Friday. "I have a lot of clients who are stuck all over the world (...) It will be a lot of lost money for our agents," he added.

Prime Minister François Bayrou on Thursday called the strike "shocking," accusing the strikers of "taking the French hostage" on the day when "everyone goes on vacation."

"One strike too many"

The effects of the movement are being felt beyond national borders, with the main European airline association, Airlines for Europe (A4E), estimating that 1,500 flights would be cancelled across Europe on Thursday and Friday, "affecting almost 300,000 passengers" on the Old Continent.

"This strike is intolerable. French air traffic control is already responsible for some of the worst delays in Europe, and now the actions of a minority of French air traffic controllers will disrupt the holiday plans of thousands of people in France and Europe," said A4E CEO Ourania Georgoutsakou.

According to the DGAC, the strike rate stood at 26.2% on Thursday, with 272 controllers taking part in the movement out of a thousand service personnel.

The second largest air traffic controllers' union, Unsa-Icna (17% of the vote in the last professional elections), launched this movement to demand better working conditions and larger staff numbers.

It was joined by the third largest union in the profession, the Usac-CGT (16%).

On Thursday, flights that were still operating experienced significant delays, particularly in Nice and Marseille. A4E estimated that the cumulative delays in Europe on Thursday amounted to "almost 500,000 minutes" on nearly 33,000 commercial flights, with many planes using French airspace without necessarily landing in the country.

Europe's largest airline, Ryanair, announced Thursday that it had had to cancel 400 flights, affecting 70,000 passengers.

Its boss, Michael O'Leary, who is no stranger to high-profile stunts, denounced the situation as caused by "a small number of French air traffic controllers taking part in recreational strikes" and urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to reform air traffic control in Europe, or failing that, to resign.

Air France confirmed that it had been "forced to adapt its flight schedule" , without specifying the number of cancellations, but stressed that all long-haul flights were "maintained" on Thursday and Friday.

"One strike too many" in a context of "the problematic poor overall performance of French air navigation, particularly penalizing companies based in France," the National Federation of Civil Aviation denounced on Friday.

"Toxic management"

A controversial reform is underway to establish a time clock for controllers when they take up their posts, following a "serious incident" at Bordeaux airport at the end of 2022, when two planes nearly collided.

An investigation had placed the blame on a faulty organisation of the work of the signalmen, outside the legal framework and without respect for the duty roster.

Among the grievances of the Unsa-Icna: "understaffing maintained and responsible for delays for a good part of the summer" , obsolete tools and "toxic management, incompatible with the imperatives of serenity and security required".

The main air traffic controllers' union, the SNCTA (60% of the vote), did not call for a strike.