Last time Paris Orly air traffic control shut down, 70 per cent of flights were cancelled: now there’s a new strike. For the past 18 months, French air travel has been dogged by strikes so chaotic and disruptive that one strike day was dubbed by the press . Now a new wave of strikes is set to hit the sector, with walkouts announced for next week by UNSA-ICNA, the union for air traffic controllers at Paris Orly airport.
The last strike by UNSA-ICNA in May saw 70 per cent of inbound/outbound Orly flights cancelled. The shutdown covers 11-13 June for flights in and out of Paris Orly - the second-largest Parisian airport after Paris-Charles de Gaulle in Roissy. Other French airports are unaffected.
It’s not yet known whether the strike action will also affect ‘overflights’ - that do not take off or land in France, but go over French airspace: more than 2.5 million flights pass through each year. Travellers planning to fly to or from Paris Orly or through France next week should check for regular updates from their airline.
Airport workers have been taking , which governs how much notice they must give managers before they can strike. This rule is already in place for employees of SNCF national railways and Paris public transport operator RATP, but has sparked repeated protests from air traffic control unions. The new regulations also include an expansion of responsibilities, with workers seeking additional pay and a recruitment drive to the profession.
Air traffic control.
