French Air Traffic Control Strikes Spark Spain Delays

Strikes from French Air Traffic Control have caused major delays in Spain and around Europe.

The industrial action began on Thursday at 6pm local time, and continued until Saturday morning at 6am local time, though the knock on effect will likely continue through the rest of the first part of the weekend at least.

The strikes impacted most flights coming from the United Kingdom to Spain as most routes between the two countries need to use French airspace.

Ryanair release statement on French ATC strikes

In relation to the strikes, Ryanair have released a statement: “Ryanair calls on EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, to take urgent action to protect overflights and EU citizens’ freedom of movement during ATC strikes, and calls on passengers to join our call on the EU Commission by signing our ‘Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open’ petition as over 1.8m fed up passengers have already done.

“Ryanair sincerely apologises to affected passengers for any inconvenience as a result of these French ATC strike disruptions, which are beyond Ryanair’s control.”

Strikes around Europe

It is hardly new news to see that a strike has been taking place in Europe, with so many happening in recent months over pay and working conditions.

With the cost of living crisis gripping people around the continent hard, they have naturally made demands for improved wages, and a general better work balance, especially after the pandemic.

That has created a perfect storm for strikes, and we have seen swathes of them across different sectors, from the travel industry to construction to schools to medical professionals.

It is pretty safe to assume there will be more disruption to come, too, with governments keeping a tight grip on purse strings as high inflation continues to impact economies in Europe and around the world.