The strike by air traffic controllers in France has forced Ryanair to cancel 420 flights for Friday, September 16. Around 80 passengers will be affected based on RYANAIR estimates alone. To which, for sure, will be added tens of thousands of other passengers affected by the cancellation of hundreds of other flights from Air France and other airlines that had scheduled flights from / to French airports, but also in transit through French airspace .
According to some estimates by Flightradar24, but also following the statements made by trade unionists, approximately 50% of scheduled flights from/to France will be affected.
In this context, RYANAIR has asked the authorities to intervene and proposes three measures to reduce the impact on passengers, including the protection of overflights through French airspace in order not to disrupt transit flights.
And this is not all. France's air traffic controllers' union has called for three more days of strike action later this month, in addition to the planned strike day on Friday, which will mean one in two flights in France will be cancelled. The Syndicat National des Contrôleurs du Trafic Aérien requested that the said strike take place between September 28-30. The September 29 strike could cause further problems as it will coincide with the strike called by the French trade union Confédération Générale du Travail.