Passengers in France upset with Air Algerie strike

Paris Orly airport witnessed angry scenes as passengers were stranded by industrial action.

Travel Insurance News - 14/07/2011

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Police were called in to deal with furious passengers after many were left stranded at Paris Orly airport in France by industrial action at Air Algerie, the state-owned airline based in Algeria. A strike that started on Monday led to dozens of flights being cancelled and triggered angry scenes at the airport.

Cabin crew at the airline are seeking a 106-per-cent salary increase. According to news agency AFP, representatives of Air Algerie have been summoned to talks with Thierry Mariani, the French Transport Minister.

Passengers stranded at Orly shouted at an official of the airline as he arrived at the airport Wednesday to speak to the travellers. The passengers reportedly yelled ‘thieves, liars’ when the official attempted to explain what the airline was doing to help them reach their destinations.

The industrial action kicked off on Monday just as passengers from North Africa were planning to head away on holiday. One man, speaking to Eurovision news exchange, said the passengers were very tired, ‘morally and physically’.

Paris is not the only city to be affected by the industrial action. At airports in other cities, including Nice and Marseille, passengers were forced to sleep in the terminals.

Mohamed Salah Boutif, the head of Air Algerie, was quoted by Algerian state radio on Tuesday as having said that the airline lacked the finances to pay the salaries being demanded by its cabin crew.

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