Ryanair has said it could be forced to cancel up to 600 flights a day next week as French air traffic controllers stage fresh strike action.
The industrial action by France’s biggest ATC union, SNCTA, is set for 7–10 October and is expected to hit routes across western Europe, including flights from the UK to Spain, Italy, Greece, and beyond that pass through French airspace.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary said as many as 100,000 passengers a day could be affected. Airlines will only learn the full scale of cancellations once the strike begins, but Ryanair expects major disruption.
In a statement, O’Leary criticised the EU for failing to shield overflights from French strikes: “We cannot have a situation in the EU where we have a single market yet we close that market every time the French go on strike. If flights are to be cancelled, they should be flights to and from France – not overflights.”
He urged the European Commission and its president, Ursula von der Leyen, to act, suggesting Eurocontrol could handle overflights during strike periods.
French ATC strikes have repeatedly disrupted European travel in recent years. Ryanair said 190 of its flights carrying 35,000 passengers were delayed during another French strike just two weeks ago, while about 30 were cancelled on Thursday due to separate union action.
Other airlines, including EasyJet and British Airways, have yet to confirm their expected level of disruption.
