France air traffic controllers begin to strike and the government shows its annoyance
Paris on July 3/ WAM/ The strike of air traffic monitors in France canceled 933 flights today, equivalent to about 10% of all flights planned inside and outside the country, according to what the French Civil Aviation Authority announced.
The Paris-Charl de Gaulle and Orley airports witnessed a significant disturbance, as the airlines were asked to reduce the number of flights by up to 40%, while the strike rate between air observers reached about 26%.
Regional airports such as Nice and Toulouse were severely damaged, as the abolition rate ranged between 30% and 50%, and European platforms specialized in aviation estimated that more than 300 thousand passengers were affected by this strike at the level of Europe, where the cancellation of more than 1500 flights in the first two days was recorded in addition to delays exceeding 20 minutes on average per trip, which was reflected negatively on the air navigation network European entirety.
The strike that started today and continues for two days in response to an invitation from two unions, UNSA-NINA and USAC-CGT, to protest the working conditions, employee deficiency and demands related to organizing tables and reforms in the safety system, especially after a serious incident in the air control facilities at Bordeaux Airport in 2022.
On the other hand, the largest union, SNCTA, which represents the majority of observers, declined to participate in this strike, which reduced its severity compared to previous moves.
The strike sparked a wave of criticism by European airlines and organizations, as the “Airlines Four europ” described what happened as unacceptable.
For its part, the company “Ryan Air” announced the cancellation of 170 trips, and confirmed that 30,000 passengers were affected by the strike, while “Air France” modified its short and medium trips, but it maintained most of its long flights.
For its part, the French government expressed its extreme annoyance with this move, and the Minister of Transport, Philip Tabaro, considered that the demands of the unions are “unrealistic”, noting that the strike will cause significant financial losses estimated at millions of euros.
Francis Bayro, head of the French government, described the strike as “shocking” and accused those in charge of “taking the French hostages”, at a critical time in which the tourism sector is witnessing a significant increase in demand at the beginning of the summer holiday season.
It is expected that the impact of the strike on the French air navigation movement will continue in the coming days, with the possibility of taking additional regulatory measures to alleviate the disturbances, while indicators have not yet been recorded on a close breakthrough in negotiations between the unions and the relevant authorities.
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