France: Air Traffic Controller Strike

On Monday morning reports from France stated that the number of flights cancelled was worse than initially expected.

At Paris Orly airport, one of the six airports affected by the two-day air traffic controllers strike, the number of flights cancelled rose to around 33 percent. There was a similar percentage of flights cancelled at Marseille.

Initially aviation authorities had instructed airlines to cancel around 20 percent of flights at these airports.

At Lyon, Nice, Beauvais and Nantes airports the percentage of flights that airlines had to scrap rose to 20 percent, much higher than on Sunday.

Flights that had to fly over French space also faced delays and although Paris Charles de Gaulle airport was spared the worst of the strike, there were reported delays.

There were reports that some airlines were putting passengers on coaches and sending them off to their destination by road. EasyJet said it had cancelled 90 flights and that more disruptions were possible, while Ryanair said a number of flights had been grounded.

Anyone travelling in or out of France on Monday is advised to check directly with their airlines whether their flight has been disrupted, before travelling to airports.

http://www.thelocal.fr/20160321/more-flights-cancelled-as-french-air-strike-bites