French air traffic strike: many Paris Orly and Marseille flights cancelled
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Version 0 of 1. Strikes by French air traffic controllers are expected to cause travel chaos for thousands of passengers on Thursday. Aviation authorities told airlines to cancel 20% of their flights from Paris Orly airport and a third of flights from Marseille as air traffic controllers went on strike again. Paris Charles De Gaulle airport was not expected to be affected by the 36-hour walkout over job cuts and the lack of investment in new technology. The Airlines for Europe lobby group said it was the 43rd strike by French air traffic controllers since 2009. It was due to end at 5am on Friday. A strike last week disrupted travel plans for thousands of passengers as airlines were forced to cancel up to a third of flights. Budget airline Ryanair said it was cancelling more than 90 flights because of the industrial action. We regret that due to yet another French ATC strike, we’ve been forced to cancel a number of flights https://t.co/9Iyo3IkOjr Easyjet and British Airways said a number of their flights were also affected: Industrial action in France will affect some flights today. You can check the latest flight info here: https://t.co/qtkotRhuXn [06:45 31MAR] The strikes coincide with a fresh day of protests over labour reforms in yet another challenge for the embattled government of President François Hollande. Some reform-minded unions have given their support to proposed changes to France’s famously stringent labour laws, but tens of thousands of students and workers took to the streets a week ago, angry over plans to make it easier for struggling companies to fire workers. Cars were burned in Paris and more than 30 people arrested as protesters clashed with police, who responded with tear gas. Organisers have threatened an even bigger day of demonstrations on Thursday. Parliament is set to vote on the reforms in late April or early May. The demonstrations are another challenge to Hollande’s authority, coming after he on Wednesday scrapped the constitutional reforms he proposed following the Paris attacks, including a plan to strip convicted terrorists of their French nationality. In a blow to his faltering credibility, Hollande said an agreement between the two houses of parliament on the measures had proved impossible. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report. |