France strikes: air and rail passengers face another weekend of disruption

Holiday flights to Alps could be hit by air-traffic control strike, while Eurostar has cancelled 15 trains linking London with Paris and Brussels

Simon Calder
Travel Correspondent
Friday 06 April 2018 09:59 BST
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Grounded? Passengers on Air France and other airlines face disruption as a result of Saturday’s strikes
Grounded? Passengers on Air France and other airlines face disruption as a result of Saturday’s strikes

Travellers to, from, within and over France face another round of problems this weekend as some air-traffic controllers join railway workers and Air France staff in industrial action.

Controllers based at the Marseille area control centre will strike all weekend against proposals for more flexible rostering.

The strike will affect aircraft flying over south-east France at 15,000 feet or above. It could hit a significant number of flights to and from the UK, where Easter holiday traffic is augmented by late-season ski flights to the French, Swiss and Italian Alps.

An alternative routing from the UK to Geneva will be opened over the southern Netherlands and Germany, but it can handle only three flights per hour.

The additional traffic in adjacent airspace could lead to delays. However, pressure on Saturday is lower than it might be because of another strike by Air France pilots, cabin crew and ground staff, which is likely to lead to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

The airline said: “Our flight schedule for this day will be disrupted. The adaptation of this flight schedule is under study.”

Previous industrial action has grounded about a quarter of Air France flights, including some services connecting Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburgh with Paris Charles de Gaulle and about 30 per cent of long-haul departures.

The unions are demanding a pay increase of 6 per cent; the airline is offering 1 per cent. They have announced additional strikes on 10, 11, 17, 18, 23 and 24 April 2018. Passengers booked on strike days can switch to alternative dates without penalty.

On Sunday and Monday, millions of rail passengers in France face another round of disruption with the second of a series of 18 two-day strikes. The dispute centres on moves to tackle the losses at SNCF, the national rail operator, and prepare for competition from 2020.

The series of rolling two-day strikes began on 3 and 4 April, when only 14 per cent of long-distance trains operated.

Eurostar trains linking London with Brussels and Paris are affected because many drivers are employed by SNCF. The cross-Channel train operator has cancelled 15 departures on Sunday, representing about one third of the usual service. Affected passengers are being accommodated on trains which are running.

The rail strikes are planned to continue until 28 June. The Foreign Office is warning British travellers: “Be aware that strikes and disruptions may occur outside of these dates.”

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