Hundreds of flights in France canceled as air traffic control workers strike

Airlines canceled flights across France on Friday as air traffic controllers went on a one-day strike to demand higher wages. The lack of pay increases for workers was “unjustifiable,” the air traffic control union, SNCTA, said in a statement. The union said the strike action came after months of negotiations over wages and recruitment plans stalled, and added that rising inflation was one reason for the strike. Another strike, lasting for three days, would take place starting Sept. 28, SNCTA said. More than 400 flights departing from or arriving to Paris Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly airports had been canceled, and about 200 had been delayed, by midday on Friday, according to FlightAware, which provides flight tracking data. Hundreds of flights to and from Lyon, Nice, Marseille, Bordeaux and Toulouse had also been canceled or delayed. Ryanair said Thursday that the strike had caused it to cancel 420 flights on Friday, a move that would affect 80,000 passengers. Neal McMahon, the airline’s operations director, called on the European Union to take steps to prevent strikes from disrupting the plans of travelers, noting that flights departing from countries outside of France with routes in French airspace had also been disrupted. “It is time that the EU step in and protect overflights so that European passengers are not repeatedly held to ransom by a tiny French ATC union,” McMahon said, using an acronym to refer to air traffic controllers. Over recent months, as energy prices surge and the cost of living increases, strikes have become more frequent, with airport and other transport workers demanding better wages and working conditions. France has had one of the lowest rates of inflation in the eurozone, but at 6.6% in August, the country’s annual pace of inflation has roughly doubled since the start of the year.<br/>