French pilots union SNPL called off its proposed month-long strike today, just hours before it was due to begin.
Air France-KLM passengers had faced severe disruption as the pilots were threatening to strike for several hours each day in a dispute over "limits" on their right to industrial action.
SNPL had wanted strikes for two hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon on every day between May 3 and 30.
Air France CEO Frederic Gagey said in a statement: "This is excellent news for both Air France customers and staff."
SNPL had called for industrial action because of a new law that forces pilots to give airlines 48-hours notice of any strike action, giving the companies time to draft in pilots from other airlines or to notify passengers of cancellations.
The union wanted the law repealed so that future strikes will have their intended effect of causing maximum disruption.
However, the strike was called off when France's Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier assured SNPL that the law was set-up to notify passengers of cancellations, not to draft in replacements.
Graham Smith
