Air France strike hits flights as French brace for rail stoppages

Air France grounded just under a third of flights on Saturday as staff staged a walkout over pay, and travellers also braced for a fresh wave of train strikes starting later in the day, crippling much of France’s transport network. The industrial action at France’s flag carrier - marking the fifth day of worker stoppages over the past month and a half - has began to overlap with nationwide rolling train strikes, as rail unions protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s reforms. Air France had forecast that some 70% of flights would operate Saturday. Unions representing airline staff, locked in a dispute with Air France management over their request for a 6% pay rise, last week called four more strike days in April, in addition to stoppages planned for April 10 and 11. Queues formed at Paris’ Roissy airport on Saturday as stranded passengers sought to rebook flights.<br/>