Ryanair cancel 400 flights after French air site visitors controllers go on strike
R
yanair cancelled 400 flights all through Europe on Tuesday amid ongoing strikes by French site visitors controllers.
The airline’s chief government Michael O’Leary stated the walkouts had prompted cancellations of round 12 per cent of its deliberate flights – although none have been home flights in France.
French air site visitors controllers are wanted to speak with plane flying over the nation’s airspace, which means that flights from the UK to Spain or Italy – often called overflights – are affected by the walkout.
Mr O’Leary stated in a press release: “It’s absolutely indefensible that flights going from Ireland to Italy, from Poland to Portugal, or from Spain to Germany are being cancelled simply because the French want to prioritise their domestic flights and cancel all the overflights.
“We respect the right of French air traffic control to strike but it should be French domestic flights or local flights to France that get cancelled.
“The French can take the train, they can take the motorways, but the people flying across France are having their flights unnecessarily cancelled because the European commission led by Ursula von der Leyen will not take action.”
The walkout, over pension reforms proposed by President Emmanuel Macron, started at 6pm on Monday and can final till 6am on Wednesday.
Mr Macron’s reforms would see the retirement age in France elevated from 62 to 64 years. The transfer has sparked livid protests all through France since January.
Meanwhile, France’s civil aviation authority has instructed airways to cancel as much as a 3rd of flights on strike days at sure airports.
Disruption is anticipated at Paris’ Orly, Charles de Gaulle and Beauvais airports in addition to Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Nice.
Earlier this week, Ryanair hit out on the President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen for not responding to a petition signed by greater than 1,000,000 clients urging her to guard overflights.
Mr O’Leary stated: “Europe is a single market. In a single market the overflights and skies over Europe must be protected. Take action.”
Greece, Italy and Spain all defend overflights no matter industrial motion.