Air France-KLM chief attacks pilots’ strike plan

Air France pilots will cost the airline “tens of millions of euros” if their plan to ground aircraft at the start of the Euro 2016 football championship this month goes ahead. Alexandre de Juniac, the outgoing CE of the carrier’s parent Air France-KLM, described the industrial action called by three separate pilots unions last week as “deplorable” in an interview on the sidelines of the Iata annual meeting in Dublin. Although it was still to early to calculate the exact cost, a strike could affect the company’s resources for future investment, he said. Air France management will meet unions early this week in an attempt to avert the strike, called for June 11 to 14, just as thousands of football fans are expected to flood into the country for the tournament. The planned action comes on the back of intense strike action in France in recent weeks as students and workers’ unions protest the government’s attempts to introduce greater flexibility into the country’s labour code. Frederic Gagey, CE f Air France, said the strike threatened the fragile recovery under way at the national carrier, which returned its first profit in six years in 2015. But industrial action would not stop fans from attending the football championship, he said. “Technically people can still go to a match with a car or a train. There will be no impact,” he said. “I understand, everyone wants us to grow more quickly. But I am not sure that losing money with a strike is best way to stimulate investment.” Pilots are striking over pay and investment after years of restructuring at Air France.<br/>