Ryanair has been forced to cancel almost 100 flights to and from Paris Beauvais airport at short notice due to the latest in a series of strikes by French air traffic controllers.
Affected passengers have been notified and advised of their options to either move to another flight or to receive a full refund.
The former military airport used by low cost carriers 46 miles north of the French capital, warned that “major disruptions” to its flight schedule was expected due to the national air traffic control strike. Several Wizz Air flights have also been affected.
Today’s walkout, which coincides with the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, follows industrial action by controllers affecting flights using French airspace last week.
Unionised French aviation workers also plan another week-long strike from June 8, according to local reports.
Ryanair repeated a call for EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to take “urgent action” to protect overflights during air traffic control (ATC) strikes
Europe’s largest airline said: “Since 2023, there has been 84 days of French ATC strikes forcing airlines to cancel thousands of EU overflights from Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland and the UK, while France in particular uses minimum service laws to protect French flights.
“This is unfair. France and all other EU states should protect overflights during ATC strikes as they do in Spain, Italy, and Greece.”
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “It is inexplicable that Ursula von der Leyen and the EU Commission have failed to take action to protect EU passengers’ freedom of movement during these repeated French ATC strikes.
“As a result, we have been forced to cancel almost 100 flights to/from Paris Beauvais airport, unfairly disrupting thousands of EU passengers’ travel plans at short notice.
“EU passengers are sick and tired of suffering unnecessary cancellations during ATC strikes.
“There is no excuse for EU passengers to bear the burden of national ATC strikes that are completely unrelated to them and its time that Ursula von der Leyen and the EU Commission do something about it.”