Knock-on disruption at Riviera airports today

Airlines have been asked to cancel 50% of flights from Orly and 15-40% at Roissy today. Air France has reportedly announced that its long-haul flights from Paris will not be affected and that cancellations will apply only to its internal services.

Further cancellations are likely tomorrow as controllers continue their protest. They are concerned about plans for an integrated European air traffic structure that could see France’s DGAC (direction générale de l’aviation civile) dismantled, potentially threatening the jobs of some 12,000 employees. They are also unhappy at the loss of around 400 posts over the last two years achieved through a policy of replacing one out of two posts that become vacant when someone retires.

This latest disruption for long suffering passengers follows a weekend of chaos caused by snow which paralysed airports in Lyon and Toulouse, causing a similar knock-on effect.

The advice is to check with the airline before travelling. CL