Half of the flights canceled in Nice, a quarter at Paris airports on Thursday, and more on Friday: a strike of French air controllers disrupts the start of the summer holidays of tens of thousands of travelers.
Shortly before 9:00 a.m. Thursday, the flights maintained accused significant delays: three quarters of an average hour in Nice at the start and arrival, 36 minutes from Paris-Orly, according to the online dashboard of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC).
The second Syndicate of Steelles of the Heaven, UNSA-ICNA (17% of the votes in the last professional elections) launched this movement to claim better working conditions and greater staff.
He was joined by the third union force of the profession, the USAC-CGT (16%). From a source close to the file, 270 air controllers declared themselves strikers on Thursday, out of a total workforce of around 1,400.
The DGAC, to adequate the number of controllers at their post and the volume of flights to be managed in complete safety, asked the airlines to give up part of their programs.
Disturbances throughout Europe
Southern airports are particularly affected: in addition to Nice, the third French platform, half of the flights are canceled in Bastia and Calvi, and 30% in Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Ajaccio and Figari.
In the Paris region, these cancellations concern a quarter of the links on the departure or arrival of Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly, two airports which during summer cutting edge see some 350,000 travelers per day in total.
Strong place in “low-cost”, that of Beauvais is housed in the same brand, with 25% of cancellations, according to the DGAC which warned that “despite these preventive measures, disturbances and significant delays are to be expected on all French airports”.
Friday, the day before school holidays, the situation will be even more tense in Paris airports and in Beauvais, the DGAC having ordered a reduction in the number of flights by 40%.
Air traffic across Western Europe suffers from the movement, given the central geographical location of France, above which many flights pass.
The Eurocontrol surveillance organization on Thursday morning warned the companies against delays that can be “important” in areas managed by the air navigation centers in Marseille, Brest and Reims.
Some 25,800 commercial flights are scheduled for Thursday in Europe. Eurocontrol noted more than 18 minutes late on average at 8:55 am, deadlines attributable to the French strike at 83%.
The Airlines for Europe association, which brings together, among others, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, British Airways, Easyjet and Ryanair, judged the strike “intolerable” and warned that it was going to “disturb the holiday projects of thousands of people”.
From a source close to the file, it is indicated that business aviation, especially in Nice and Le Bourget near Paris, is also very affected.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Transport excluded to yield. “The demands brought by minority unions are unacceptable, as is the choice to go on strike at the time of the big starts in vacation,” said Philippe Tabarot.
Company trade measures
A contested reform is underway to establish a score of the controllers at the postal post, following a “serious incident” at Bordeaux airport at the end of 2022, when two planes had almost collided. An investigation had caused it responsibility for a failing organization of the work of the sharpeners.
On the company side, Air France confirmed that it was “forced to adapt its flight program”, without specifying the number of cancellations, but stressed that its long-haul network was not affected.
Like her, her subsidiary Low-Cost Transavia indicated that her customers concerned were informed individually and that “commercial measures” would allow “a postponement of the trip at no cost or a full refund”.
Among the grievances of the UNSA-ICNA: “a maintained sub-effective and responsible for delays a good part of the summer”, obsolete tools and “toxic management, incompatible with the required serenity and security imperatives”.
The first Syndicate of Sky Steers, the SNCTA (60% of the vote), told AFP not to call a strike.
This article was published automatically. Sources: ATS / AWP / AFP
