Newsroom
If your summer getaway includes flying over or through France this week, you might want to double-check your flight status, especially if you're one of nearly 300,000 passengers grounded by an air traffic control strike that’s thrown Europe’s skies into chaos.
More than 1,500 flights were cancelled on Wednesday and Thursday (July 3–4) as French air traffic controllers walked off the job demanding better working conditions and more staffing. Southern France and the Paris region have been hit the hardest, with Paris Charles de Gaulle, Orly, and Beauvais airports seeing significant disruption.
Wednesday alone saw 933 cancellations, right on the eve of France’s school holidays, known as le Grand Départ, when families traditionally set off for their summer break. The timing could not be worse.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) reported that 26% of air traffic controllers joined the strike, with 272 out of 1,000 taking part. That was enough to cause major flight reductions, particularly in the southern half of the country, where staffing is tight and traffic is heavy.
The European airline lobby group Airlines for Europe (A4E) didn’t hold back, slamming the industrial action as a blow to passengers across the continent. “Tens of thousands of travelers in France and across Europe have seen their summer getaways canceled,” A4E said in a statement, calling the disruption “unacceptable” during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.
And there’s more turbulence ahead. On Friday, DGAC ordered a 40% cut in scheduled flights from Paris and Beauvais, meaning more passengers could find themselves grounded before the weekend even begins.
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, however, isn't budging. On Wednesday, he flatly rejected the unions’ demands, signaling that negotiations are stalled, for now.
