Ryanair Holdings Plc’s main gateway to Paris descended into chaos on Thursday because of a strike by air-traffic controllers, forcing Europe’s largest low-cost carrier to cancel all flights at Paris-Beauvais airport.
(Bloomberg) — Ryanair Holdings Plc’s main gateway to Paris descended into chaos on Thursday because of a strike by air-traffic controllers, forcing Europe’s largest low-cost carrier to cancel all flights at Paris-Beauvais airport.
The Irish airline scrapped about 130 flights, according to a spokesperson. All other flights at the airport were called off as well. Budget carriers EasyJet Plc and Wizz Air Holdings Plc also operate at Paris-Beauvais, located about 105 kilometers north of the French capital.
France’s Civil Aviation Authority had demanded a 50% cutback in flights at Paris-Beauvais on Thursday, expecting some walkouts. But “zero air traffic controllers” showed up there or at Brest and Carcassonne airports, a spokesman for the authority said by phone.
Air traffic controllers are protesting planned labor changes that could lead to job cuts at smaller French airports. Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports were operating as planned and weren’t affected. “Normal business will resume on Friday,” Beauvais said on its website.
EasyJet said it canceled two flights at Beauvais.
Other walkouts by French air traffic controllers, to protest government pension reform, have led to thousands of flight cancellations since the start of the year, raising worries for summer travel and further denting the image of France, which has been hit by weeks of protests.
The labor action by French air traffic controllers has also caused delays for planes flying over the country to reach other destinations, according to Ryanair. It has urged passengers to sign an online petition urging European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to intervene and “keep EU skies open.”
Read more: Sporadic Strikes in France Are Causing European Flight Chaos
–With assistance from Siddharth Philip.
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