British airport CHAOS - French air traffic control STRIKE causes mayhem in UK
FRENCH Air Traffic Control strike kicked off today causing hundreds of UK flights to be delayed or cancelled.
Vueling Airlines among those hit by major French strikes
Industrial action by air traffic controllers in France is taking place all week, until Friday.
The strike will affect all flights travelling over southern and western French airspace.
This includes a bulk of flights departing from the UK for destinations such as Spain, Portugal, southern France and the Canary Islands.
The strike action, which has become an annual occurrence, is set to cause huge delays and cancellations for British holidaymakers.
Travel chaos: French air traffic control strike causes delays and cancellations for Brits
Travel chaos: All UK flights to southern Europe will be affected by the strike
Vueling Airlines has cancelled 24 flights today, due to the strike.
Flights to or from the following face severe delays or cancellations today: London, Paris, Barcelona, Valencia, Lisbon, Bordeaux, Nantes, Rome, Copenhagen, Milan and Prague.
The three control centres in France affected by the strike are Brest, Bordeaux and Aix en Provence.
The General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC)has urged airlines to reduce their flight schedules for the rest of this week.
Travel chaos: The strike action is expected to last until Friday
The strike will also affect some aircrafts that simply fly over French airspace, but in that case no cancellations are expected, only delays
A spokesperson for the DGAC said: “It is still too early to determine the percentage of cancellations at each airport.
“Depending on the days, between 25 per cent and 33 per cent of the connections going to the south and west will be suspended.
“The strike will also affect some aircrafts that simply fly over French airspace, but in that case no cancellations are expected, only delays.”
Flight compensation company EUclaim is recommending British travellers avoid heading to southern Europe.
‘Selfish’ air traffic controllers disrupt travel plans for thousands
Travel chaos: The French aviation watchdog has urged airlines to reduce their flight schedule
Tjitze Noorderhaven, UK Manager of EUclaim said: “There is no sugar-coating it - we’re set for travel misery.
“If the French unions follow the strike patterns of 2014/15/16, we are also likely to see further action in May and June, spoiling summer holidays.
“Typically, the strike action is taking place mid-week.
French ATC receive double pay on a Sunday, so they try to avoid weekends wherever possible. I can only think of one strike action in the last year, which has fallen on a Sunday.”
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