French air strike to cause huge travel chaos

Tens of thousands of air travellers face major problems this week.

Travel Insurance News - 23/09/2010

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A strike over public sector pensions for workers in France is threatening major travel chaos for tens of thousands of airline passengers. The walkout by air-traffic controllers in France could cause the cancellation of around 400 of the flights between France and the UK and could create delays for services to other destinations.

Much of French airspace will be closed, forcing many airlines to divert flights. The knock-on effect will lead to congestion on many other routes in Europe. The travel problems are set to be even worse than that experienced during the big street protests held in France two weeks ago.

Ryanair has been forced to cancel more than 200 European flights. Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary was so angry, he lambasted France’s controllers. He said European government continues to pressure airlines over the rights of air passengers if flights are delayed, despite so many of this year’s flight delays being caused by the poorly-managed air-traffic services of Europe.

EasyJet warned passengers major disruption was likely. It said the walkout would cause big problems for flights to destinations across France but the carrier hoped it could continue to operate the maximum number of flights possible. Both British Airways and esyJet advise passengers to confirm with airlines that their flights are running before travelling to the airport.

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