• The French Civil Aviation Authority has ordered airlines to reduce their schedules.
• Schedules to get reduced by as much as half on Friday because of a strike by air traffic control staff.
• Air France said on Wednesday said that it would slash its short-haul network by around 55 per cent.

Because of a nationwide strike by air traffic controllers, the French Civil Aviation Authority has ordered airlines to cut their timetables by up to half on Friday. As a result of the one-day walkout by air traffic control staff represented by the SNCTA union on September 16, the DGCA cautioned travellers to expect “flight cancellations and considerable delays.”

Air France said on Wednesday that it would reduce its short-haul network by roughly 55% on the day of the strike, but that it would still run up to 90% of long-haul flights.

The French government has requested that airlines allow travellers to reschedule their flights without charge.

“Our employees at the airport and in our customer relations centres are fully mobilised,” an Air France representative said on Wednesday. “They will do all in their power to assist you (affected passengers) and minimise the impact of the strike on your travel.”

The union has blamed the walkout on a lack of recruiting as well as a salary freeze during a period of rising inflation. Air traffic controllers are already preparing a second strike, which is set to take place between Wednesday, September 28 and Friday, September 30.

Eurocontrol, the European air traffic control body, said it will try to reroute flights that would normally use French airspace during the strike, but the walkout could cause havoc across Europe.

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