Strikes in France cause air travel chaos today

Strikes in France got underway today, causing road, rail and air travel chaos today. Passengers flying with budget airline Ryanair were the worst affected by the strikes in France. Ryanair was forced to cancel 250 inbound and outbound flights between the UK and France.

The strikes in France are in retaliation against the government's proposal to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Train drivers in Paris were the first workers to begin striking this morning. Street protests are expected to affect the city throughout the day, and possibly at the weekend.

Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, voiced his disgust of the situation: ‘How many more times will Europe's airlines and their passengers be disrupted by unnecessary airspace closures, strikes and work to rules before the EU Commission finally takes some action? Striking French air traffic control staff are the modern equivalent of highwaymen. They don't care about consumers, they don't care about passengers, they repeatedly strike because they know they can shut down Europe's skies and hold EU Governments and passengers to ransom.'

Throughout the summer, air passengers had to cope with the impact of strikes in France and other European countries. British Airways strike action led to chaos in UK airports, while public sector strikes in Greece had an impact on tourists in popular holiday destinations.

If you are planning to fly to or from France today, be sure to contact your airline before you leave for the airport to find out if your flight has been cancelled or delayed.

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