Thousands of Irish passengers are set to be affected by flight cancellations this bank holiday Monday, due to disruption from the latest air traffic control strikes in France.
Well over a dozen flights between Dublin and France-based destinations are already listed as cancelled on the airport’s website, although it is expected this figure could rise further.
It is understood the situation may also affect flights in Cork and Belfast and passengers have been urged to check with their airline for any updates on whether their own flights are affected.
Aer Lingus said it has contacted all customers impacted by cancellations to advise them of their options.
It said: “While the rest of our schedule will operate as planned customers travelling to other European destinations may experience some delays as a result.”
The routes affected include journeys to and from Paris CDG, Paris BVA, Lourdes, Nimes, Bordeaux, and Nice.
On Saturday, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said the airline would be cancelling 220 flights on Monday due to the strikes, which would affect around 40,000 passengers. These passengers will have been informed and the airline would do its best to accommodate them, he said.
Mr O’Leary said that France is using minimum service legislation to protect local French flights.
The airline recently launched a petition calling on action at European level to protect such flights from being cancelled and it said there have been more than 620,000 signatures on the petition.
Mr O’Leary also said that overflights are protected from strikes in the likes of Italy and Greece.
“It is unfair that flights from the UK to Spain or from Italy to Portugal are being cancelled simply because a bunch of French air traffic control units want to go on strike,” he said.
Mr O’Leary, meanwhile, hit out at the French authorities and urged intervention from the European Commission and its president Ursula von der Leyen.
The airline recently launched a petition calling on action at European level to protect such flights from being cancelled and it said there have been more than 620,000 signatures on the petition.
Ryanair has previously said that Eurocontrol – which coordinates aviation across the EU – should be allowed to manage flights over France during the strikes in order to prevent disruption to travellers.
The cancellations come as Ireland’s major airports geared up for a busy May bank holiday weekend.
Cork Airport had prepared for 52,000 passengers this bank holiday weekend, with a new Aer Lingus Regional service to Bristol entering service. The airport has 44 scheduled routes on offer this summer.
In Dublin, just 400,000 passengers were expected across the weekend and Shannon Airport expected 45,000 people travelling through the airport this weekend, a 27% increase on pre-pandemic levels.
The planned action by French air traffic control staff will be the 51st such day of strike action in recent months. Workers in France have been holding regular strikes over Government plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
