French ATC striking.....again!!!!.

[Sparky]

I see that the French ATCs are causing chaos again, many delays and some cancellations for three days .

[Nick]

They seriously need sorting out.....

[pollensa]

Am afraid this has affected flights between the UK & PMI - several were cancelled today - so do check your flights if you are travelling tomorrow as there may still be issues.

[Sparky]

According to the Spanish press it is causing delays to flights between Palma and the mainland, German flights also affected .

[copper]

It delayed our flight to Prague last Sunday

They never give up ! Cross channel ferries also cancelled because of strikes at some Ports there as well !!!

Will have to keep watch now didnt think they started till a bit later in the year normally

[Sparky]

Saw this on the Easyjet website :-

French Public Service and Air Traffic Control Strike – 19th May

17/05/2016
We have been advised of a Public Services and Air Traffic Controllers strike in France on Thursday 19th May. Like all airlines, our flights to and from French airports, as well as those flying in French airspace, could be affected.

We are doing everything possible to minimise the impact of the strike on our customers, and have taken the decision to proactively cancel a number of flights, allowing customers to reorganise their journeys. We will communicate to affected customers directly via SMS using the details provided at the time of booking.

For cancelled flights, any affected customers will be offered a free of charge transfer to a new flight or a full refund. We strongly advise customers to AVOID rebooking flights on the same day (19th May), as there is the possibility of further disruption throughout the day.

In accordance with EU261 regulations, you will not be entitled to claim for compensation as a result of the industrial action. However you will be entitled to claim for some expenses, further information is detailed here What to do if your flight is delayed or cancelled | easyJet. Reimbursement of expenses can be claimed by using this link Email Us | easyJet to our Web form and selecting expenses claims in the drop down list.
We advise all passengers to allow plenty of extra time to get to the airport and consider alternative transport options where possible, as public transport services will be affected by the strike.

For real time information we strongly recommend that all customers flying on Thursday 19th May check the status of their flight on our Flight Tracker before going to the airport. Flight Tracker can either be checked on the mobile app or on easyjet.com/en/flight-tracker, or easyjet.com/Your Flight Number. We are strongly urging customers using our mobile app on iOS devices to subscribe to push notifications to automatically receive updates relevant to their flight.

Although this situation is outside of our control we would like to apologise to any affected passengers for the inconvenience caused.

[Carter76]

3 more days of strikes planned for this weekend: Friday - Sunday!!

Not due to be flying to PP (mores the pity!), but am due at a wedding in Alicante so will be keeping a close eye on this one!

[jjacks]

Oh no. We are due to fly out on Sunday 5th as we are completing our apartment on Monday 6th at midday with the notary. I am officially in panic mode now.

[Carter76]

Hopefully some sense will prevail, but when the French Unions are involved it's hard to talk about sense.....

[Nick]

French/sense???!!!

[Shaun&Caro]

I work in France about half the time, and my colleagues here feel this may be the start of a few miserable weeks.

Although there is already a lot of local disruption with few trains, little petrol available and other inconveniences on strike days (today for example), the bigger question is around the Euro 2016 tournament which starts on 10 June, finishing 10 July.

Transport strikes have already been announced for all 10 host cities during the tournament, and the bigger unions (which may include ATC) have not yet announced their intentions.

Anyone with travel plans, keep checking...

[Carter76]

Seems that Ryanair have cancelled over 70 flights again today, due to another strike (separate to the Fri - Sun one mentioned above but affecting traffic controllers too). French news is saying that some of the ATC unions have pulled back from the planned action at the weekend now, but others haven't - so it remains to be seen what the outcome will be!

[Sparky]

This is from Easyjet :-

French Industrial Action

01/06/2016

Update 01st June 2016 16:34 UK local

We have been advised of a French Air Traffic Control strike between the 2nd and 5th June 2016, which is part of the current on-going industrial action in France.

Approximately 65% of our flights fly over French airspace, which means we are expecting a large impact to our flying programme. We have been working very hard to minimise the impact on our customers, but just like other airlines, we have been forced to cancel flights ahead of the strike. Customers who are on the affected flights will be contacted directly via SMS and email to the mobile number or email address provided at the time of booking.

Customers whose flights are cancelled will be offered a free of charge transfer to a new flight or a full refund.

We strongly advise customers to AVOID rebooking flights between the 2nd and 5th June as there is the possibility of further disruption throughout the weekend.

Whilst this situation is beyond our control customers will be entitled to claim reasonable expenses - further information is detailed here: What to do if your flight is delayed or cancelled | easyJet. Reimbursement of expenses can only be claimed by using this link http://www.easyjet.com/en/help/contact-us/email to our Web form, and selecting ‘Expenses Claims’ in the drop down list. However, you should also be aware that in accordance with EU261 regulations, customers will not be entitled to claim for compensation as a result of the industrial action.
We have set up a dedicated phone line for any customers affected by the strike that will provide pre-recorded information for customers on 0161 774 0914. This will be the most up to date information we have and our call centre agents will not be able to provide any additional details. We therefore recommend that all customers travelling between the 2nd and 5th June check flight tracker online or on the app before travelling to the airport. Full details can be found at Book cheap flights and find last minute flight deals).

[copper]

As the season gets busier and the French carry on like this it will be more difficult to see how Ryanair and Easyjet will catch up with the backlog of passengers

We fly from Gatwick for winter and out of season holidays as seems less chance of them striking then ( even then going to Prague in March we were delayed because of them ! ) but for June and September to PP we fly locally Thomsonfrom Bournemouth much more expensive but feel we have more chance of them just running the flights later My husband said now he is retired he is happy to go to Gatwick then as well I have said Im not as this happens every summer !!

Government in France normally roll over and with the Euros coming up they probably will

[pollensa]

Reading through the news France industrial unrest: Air threat lifts as rail strikes continue - BBC News and the website for the main French ATC Union the 'SNCTA' - the ATC strikes called for 3rd, 4th & 5th June HAVE been lifted.

Unfortunately it seems that Airlines such as Easyjet & Ryanair have already cancelled flights today on 2nd June when there doesn't appear to be any strike.