Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

STRIKES

Flights grounded at French airports due to air traffic controllers’ strike

A French air traffic controllers' strike on Thursday has caused flights to be cancelled and led to travel disruption for passengers flying in and out of France.

Published: 28 June 2023 16:40 CEST
Updated: 29 June 2023 12:17 CEST

Flights grounded at French airports due to air traffic controllers' strike

A Wizzair plane taking off at Beauvais airport, northern Paris. (Photo by Eric FEFERBERG / AFP)

The French air traffic controllers – Direction générale de l’aviation civil, or DGAC – announced that disruption is to be expected on Thursday, June 29th, for those flying into or out of Paris Beauvais airport, located about 100km outside the city and known as a hub for budget airlines like Ryanair.

Two other airports in France are also affected by the strike action, leading to flight groundings – Brest, in the far west of the country, and Carcassonne, in the south.

Thursday’s strike did not affect the main French airports, such as Charles de Gaulle and Orly, the DGAC said, or carriers flying over France.

All flights at the three airports are expected to be fully grounded throughout the day on Thursday, with disruption continuing until Friday morning at 6am. This represents a change, as previously, the DGAC had requested that half of flights be cancelled.

#Perturbations | Mouvement social national du 29 juin 2023. pic.twitter.com/xkjS9VCCX9

— Direction générale de l'aviation civile 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@DGAC) June 28, 2023

For those with flight plans passing through the Beauvais, Brest, or Carcassonne airports, it is advised to check your flight status with your airline operator prior to departing. The DGAC recommends that those who can delay their travel do so.

The strike, over working conditions, follows sporadic stoppages by air traffic controllers seen between March and May in protest against the government’s reform of the French pensions system.

For those flying in or out of the Geneva airport in Switzerland, there may also be delays on Thursday, June 29th, as unions have threatened strike action due to disagreements over the airport’s new remuneration policy.

You can keep up to date with strike action in France at The Local’s strike section.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Thunderstorms, floods and traffic: France’s last holiday weekend in May

Monday, May 20th is a holiday for most of France, marking the Christian festival of Pentecost, which means that many people will enjoy a three-day weekend.

This is the last of four public holidays in France in May 2024, now we need to wait until August for another extra day off work (since the Fête National on July 14th falls on a Sunday this year).

So what can we expect for the long weekend? Well, bad weather and heavy traffic, unfortunately.

The Moselle département, in north-east France, was placed on red weather alert on Friday after hours of heavy rain caused flash flooding.

The red weather alert initially runs until 9pm on Friday, with between 80mm and 100mm of rain expected, while between 70mm and 90mm are predicted in the far north of the neighbouring Bas-Rhin, with up to 70mm expected further south – figures national forecaster Météo-France said approached records for daily rainfall figures in the region.

Orange alerts in the area remain in place on Saturday.

Image: Météo-France

Rain and occasional storms, some bringing hail, are expected to develop across large parts of the country throughout the weekend, with only the Mediterranean areas likely to remain dry on Saturday.

Showers and sunny spells will continue into Sunday and Monday, with occasional thunderstorms in the south-west. Temperatures throughout the weekend should rise to between 15C and 22C.

To make family getaways on the final long weekend of the month even more difficult, roads watchdog Bison Futé predicts ‘difficult’, or ‘very difficult’ travel conditions on key routes across the country.

Image: Bison Fute

On Friday, traffic is expected to be heavy on routes heading away from major cities towards popular holiday destinations until well into the evening – especially on Paris’s Périphérique and the A86 and A6B, the A7, along the Mediterranean Arc and on the Atlantic seaboard (A11, N165 and A63).

The A13 is likely to remain closed to traffic between Paris and Vaucresson across the holiday weekend, so drivers from the Paris region wishing to reach Normandy are advised to take the A14, A15 or N12

On Saturday, May 18th, conditions on the roads will be difficult nationwide, particularly on roads serving the Mediterranean arc (A7 and A9) and the Atlantic coast (A63 and N165). In the Île-de-France region, traffic will be heavy from early morning onwards on the A6 and A10. From mid-morning onwards, traffic is expected to intensify significantly.

Image: Bison Fute

Routes converging on the A10 and A6 could also see traffic problems on Saturday, Bison Futé warned.

No major forecastable traffic problems are expected on Sunday – but, on Monday, May 20th, short breakers will be returning home, leading to heavy traffic across the country, notably on A7 and A9, in the Mediterranean region, and routes serving the west of the country.

Traffic will be heavy on the A10 and A6 in the Île-de-France region from late morning into the evening. The A13, which should be open, could also experience traffic problems from mid-afternoon onwards, and could continue to do so well into the evening.

Across the country banks and public administration offices will close. Some independent shops may close, while larger stores and chains are more likely to be open, but probably with altered opening hours.

Most bars, restaurants and cafés will remain open while public transport will run as normal.

Url copied to clipboard!