Thousands of flights were canceled in France and Europe on Thursday, April 25, as a strike by French air traffic controllers over pay caused stoppages not seen in decades. Airlines cut more than half of their normal flight schedules at Paris's two main airports Orly and Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle, with many flights in the southern city of Marseille also grounded.
A decision by the biggest air traffic controller union SNCTA on Wednesday to withdraw their strike call after a deal with management came too late to alleviate the mayhem significantly as the DGAC had already ordered airlines to cancel most of their flights.
Short and medium-haul flights were the worst affected, while long-haul services faced the least disruption. Budget airline Ryanair reported 300 cancelations Thursday, and easyJet and Transavia each 200. Across Europe, some 2,000 more flights were canceled and another 1,000 forced to change routes to avoid French airspace, the Airlines for Europe trade body said.
Cancelation numbers were at their highest "in 20 years", said Augustin de Romanet, CEO of ADP, the company operating the capital's airports. On Wednesday, de Romanet had warned that "several tens of millions of euros" were at stake for airlines and airports "every strike day". Air traffic association IATA accused the French controllers of "blackmail" and of making exorbitant demands.
As SNCTA in the end canceled their strike call, three smaller unions maintained theirs. Delays for flights authorized to operate were moderate, however, DGAC said, with many only around 30 minutes late. The unions' demands are a response to a planned overhaul of French air-traffic control systems.
The strike calls followed an initial breakdown of talks, raising concerns over the risk of renewed action during the Olympic Games in Paris from late July, when millions of visitors are expected in the capital.