Air traffic controllers in France are going on strike. This is expected to cause flight chaos in Western Europe. 300,000 travelers will be affected, according to NTB.
Finnair has already announced a strike that will affect thousands of travelers. Now the flight chaos for vacationers continues.
A large number of air traffic controllers in France went on strike on Thursday which is expected to cause a lot of disruption, reports The Parisian. The situation is expected to worsen further on Friday.
The French aviation authority has ordered a 40 percent reduction in the number of flights.
”Air traffic throughout Western Europe is expected to be affected by the disruptions, given France's central location,” the newspaper writes. 300,000 travelers are affected, according to NTB.
”Ruin vacation plans”
The influential organization Airlines for Europe, which includes Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, British Airways, EasyJet and Ryanair, describes the strike as "unacceptable" and warns of the consequences:
– It will ruin the holiday plans of thousands of people. The strike was called to demand better working conditions and increased staffing, according to the union.
”Limited impact for Swedes”
Meanwhile, a reform of the clocking system for air traffic controllers is pending after a serious incident at Bordeaux airport in 2022 when two planes almost collided. According to the aviation authority, the air traffic controllers did not follow the duty schedule.
“Aviation safety and the professionalism of the industry are at stake, and I will not back down on this important reform,” says Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot.
Swedavia states that the impact on Swedish travelers is currently limited and that individual flights to Nice are affected.
Norwegian writes in a text message:
”"For Swedish travelers, we have canceled a round-trip flight to Nice today. All travelers will be informed directly by us and will have the opportunity to rebook or get their money back. We regret this, but the strike in France is unfortunately not something we can influence," writes Norwegian's Director of Communications Charlotte Holmbergh.
Source: Aftonbladet.se
