The first French air-traffic control strike commences today and hundreds of flights have been cancelled.
Workers will strike from 7pm local time today until 6am on Friday 10th May as part of a disagreement regarding the French President, Macron’s plans to restructure working conditions.
Budget airline, EasyJet has cancelled over 50 departures and British Airways have cancelled 36. The 35-hour walk out will cause major delays and disruption to flights travelling to and from France, and through the French airspace to reach other countries.
Air-traffic controllers at Paris Charles de Gaulle are expected to continue working however, according to the Independent, airlines flying into Paris Orly, Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse have been advised to reduce their scheduled flights by 30%.
Passengers due to fly with EasyJet, British Airways and Ryanair will received either an email or SMS updating them on the status of their flights. If the flight is cancelled all airlines are offering their passengers a refund or will transfer them to another flight. British Airways have said they will use their larger planes, where possible, to cater for this.
Refreshments and accommodation may also be offered by the airline if necessary.
Due to the incident being classed as an extraordinary circumstance (an event which is beyond the airlines control) compensation will not be offered.
Passengers that are still scheduled to fly today should bear in mind that delays are imminent. Travel insurers will offer a small amount of compensation to those affected by delays, providing they have checked-in on time and the delay was not announced beforehand.
This is believed to be the first of many planned strikes this summer, so passengers hoping to getaway for their hard-earned break should be prepared for a string of disruption.
