Ryanair was forced to cancel more than 400 flights on Friday, disrupting travel for over 70,000 passengers as a nationwide air traffic controller strike in France coincided with the start of Europe’s peak summer holiday season.
The Dublin-based carrier cancelled 16 flights between Dublin and French cities including Paris, Nantes and Nice, as well as Murcia in Spain. The French civil aviation agency DGAC had requested airlines reduce flights at Paris airports by 40% due to the planned industrial action.
The strike’s impact extended beyond direct French routes, affecting all flights crossing French airspace. Passengers traveling from the UK to Greece and Spain to Ireland faced disruptions as their flights were forced to navigate around the affected airspace.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary criticized the timing and scale of the disruption, stating that 468 flights had been cancelled with numbers expected to rise. He called the situation “abundantly unfair” on EU passengers and families beginning their holidays.
O’Leary appealed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to take urgent action reforming EU air traffic control services. “Once again European families are held to ransom by French air traffic controllers going on strike,” he said.
The disruption highlights the vulnerability of European aviation to industrial action in key airspace corridors. French airspace is crucial for flights across the continent, making strikes particularly disruptive during peak travel periods when demand is highest.