French strikes on pension reform: 6,338 flights cancelled since mid-January

In recent months, airlines have had to adapt to particular circumstances in France: strikes on pension reform have forced them to cancel 6,338 flights, often at the last moment… 

Sporadic strikes have affected French airports since the start of the social movement against pension reform almost three months ago. They pushed the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) to request preventive flight cancellations at several airports, including Paris-Orly, Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes and Toulouse.

According to figures that the DGAC provided to BFM Business, 6,338 flights were cancelled between January 19 and April 9. Over this same period, 572,085 flights were “controlled by the air navigation services,” i.e. flights which crossed French airspace.

“When the DGAC asks airlines to reduce their flight schedule, the airlines generally have 24 hours to send a proposal for their modified flight schedule for the day(s) concerned,” adds the authority.

For Air France, 30 to 50 flights had to cancel during these days affected by the strikes, with the biggest disruption at Paris-Orly.

Annoyed by the situation, the Irish low-cost company Ryanair launched an online petition a few weeks ago with its passengers. This asked them to support its appeals to the European authorities to protect the overflight of French territory. According to Ryanair, strikes by air traffic controllers have forced it to delay or cancel “flights of more than a million passengers since the start of the year“.

Source: BFMTV