More than 300 flights have been cancelled as a result of today’s air traffic control strike (ATC) in France.
The strike, which is expected to last 35 hours, will delay travel plans for more than 200,000 passengers during the busiest month of the year. This is the ATC’s 13th strike this year.
Another strike is planned to take place in Italy later this month, risking hundreds of cancelled flights.
Commenting on the effects, managing director of Airlines For Europe (A4E) Thomas Reynaert said:
“Just last week, we released a new study on the economic impact of ATC strikes in Europe. The analysis revealed that between 2010-15 the overall impact of these strikes reduced European Union GDP up to €9.5 billion.
Southern European states suffer more than others from ATC strikes because passengers are unable to reach their holiday destination. The EU Commission needs to put the tourism sector back into the spotlight to prevent the holidays of European families being spoilt by these strikes which cause major disruption for passengers.”
Between 2010 and 2015 there were 167 ATC strike days in the EU, or one in every 13. There were a total 213 disrupted days, including days before and after strikes when flights were cancelled in advance and accumulated delays spilt over to the next day.
The latest ATC strikes in Greece, Italy, Belgium and France since March this year have caused over 3,500 cancellations among A4E members and more than 16,000 hours across airlines operating in European airspace.
In Europe ATC strikes occur most frequently in France, followed by Greece, Italy and Portugal. Strikes that took place between 2010 and 2015 resulted in 30,000 cancellations and more than 6 million minutes of delay among A4E airlines.
Marisa Cannon
