French air traffic controllers went on strike over salary on Friday, forcing hundreds of flights to be canceled and prompting thousands of passengers to modify their plans.
Due to the 24-hour strike's impact on connections from airports around the continent, Ryanair, the largest airline in Europe, grounded 420 of its flights across the continent, CNN reported.
EasyJet, a rival low-cost airline, issued a warning of major delays and disruptions.
The primary union representing traffic controllers in France, the Syndicat National des Contrôleurs du Trafic Aérien, or SNCTA, started a strike at 6 a.m. central European time (00:00 a.m. ET) on Friday.
Ongoing interruptions are anticipated to last through Monday. The union announced the strike after talks with the administration over salary increases that kept pace with inflation faltered.
Mounting Concerns of Air Traffic Controllers
In a statement, SNCTA decried the absence of tangible components and promises from public authorities after months of negotiations to obtain fair and appropriate responses.
The SNCTA air traffic controllers' union expressed concern on behalf of its members over remuneration that is not keeping pace with the rate of inflation.
It also concerns low recruitment, threatening holes in the profession's ranks when present professionals retire later this decade, according to a report from France24.
The union said that a notice of a subsequent strike on September 28 to 30 had been submitted. According to France's DGAC civil aviation authority, 16 airports were running a minimal service, and traffic control centers were directing aircraft overflying French territory at a great height.
The DGAC issued a warning about "cancellations and major delays across the country," but numerous smaller airports were shut down. Eurocontrol, the European air traffic control agency, reported "severe disruption," with delays totaling more than 500,000 minutes as of 8:30 am (0630 GMT). The level there was more than three times what it was on last Friday as a whole when air traffic was flowing regularly.
One spokesperson for Groupe ADP, operator of Paris airports, said, "Everything is very quiet, as the passengers had been warned in advance and did not go to the airports."
Low-cost airline EasyJet (EZJ.L) said that the strike had forced the cancellation of 76 flights. British Airways (ICAG.L) announced that it has made a few minor adjustments to its short-haul schedule and is providing passengers with choices for rebooking and refunds for flights that have been canceled, per Reuters.
Airports in Adjacent Countries Also Affected
Major airports in the neighboring nations were also impacted. The Spanish airport operator AENA (AENA.MC) said that 65 flights had to be canceled as a result.
Numerous planes transiting through French airspace were also eaffected. After midday on Friday, more than 50 flights at Barcelona Airport were either delayed or canceled.
In Germany, 48 of the day's 251 flights were canceled by lunchtime, and further delays and cancellations were anticipated.
Up to 50% of France's flights may be affected, the Directorate General for Civil Aviation of France said earlier this week, advising travelers to get in touch with their carriers and postpone travel.
On Monday, there could also be issues because London's Heathrow airport announced that some flights would be canceled or delayed to keep the airspace quiet during events for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.
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