Further travel chaos in store due to French air traffic control strikes
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Multiple flights may be cancelled this week from Irish airports due to French air traffic control strikes.
Strikes are set to begin on Monday evening and run through Tuesday this week.
Ryanair’s Cork to Carcassonne service is one of the impacted routes with customers already being notified of its cancellation.
A spokesperson for DAA, the operator of Cork and Dublin airports, has advised all passengers to stay in contact with their airline if their flight is to fly through French air traffic control space in the coming days.
French strikes have already caused chaos for some Irish flights this year, with multiple routes cancelled in previous months.
French air traffic controllers have staged some 57 days of strikes so far this year.
Ryanair delivered a petition signed by 1.1m EU passengers to the European Commission in recent days, demanding overflights be protected from air traffic control (ATC) strikes, particularly in France, to help avoid travel disruption.
Last month, the trade group Airlines for Europe, which represents companies such as Lufthansa and Air France-KLM as well as Ryanair, also called on the commission to take action.
CEO Michael O'Leary previously said that France's location meant the cancellation of flights merely passing through its airspace during local strikes was particularly disruptive and polluting.
"The next French strike is due June 6 to 7 and our flights are full and we're being forced to cancel flights. There is a simple solution for this. Other member states have laws that protect overflights," Mr O'Leary said, referring to Greece, Italy and Spain.
Ryanair said it called on the commission to protect 100% of overflights, require a 21-day notice of strike action and a 72-hour notice of employee participation in ATC strikes, among other measures.
Ryanair, which is Europe's biggest airline by passenger numbers, said that 57 days of ATC strikes during the first five months of the year forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights.
The rate of strikes was 10 times greater than in 2022.
French air traffic controllers have been protesting President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to increase the retirement age to 64 from 62, a move which has sparked mass protests across the country and across industries.