French air traffic controllers went on strike for a second day on Friday, July 4, leading to widespread flight cancellations and disrupting travel for hundreds of thousands of people—not just those flying to or from France, but also those on flights passing over the country as the summer holiday season begins.
France’s civil aviation authority, the DGAC, said that 933 flights to and from French airports were cancelled on Thursday, July 3. By Friday morning, around 1,000 more had been cancelled after the DGAC asked airlines to cut 40% of scheduled flights due to the strike.
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot told CNews that “yesterday and today, 272 people in our country will impact the well-being of more than 500,000 people.” “This is unacceptable,” he said.
The strike also caused major delays across Europe. Nearly 33,000 commercial flights were affected on Thursday, with “almost 500,000 minutes” of delays, according to industry figures.
Ryanair, Europe’s biggest airline by passenger numbers, said it had to cancel more than 400 flights. CEO Michael O’Leary urged the European Commission to take action to protect overflights during strikes. “Of these 400 flight cancellations, 350 would not be cancelled if the EU protected overflights over France,” he said.
