Ryanair cancels 400 flights throughout Europe amid air traffic controller strike 

Ryanair has cancelled 400 flights throughout Europe today as air traffic control workers go on strike.

Staff walkouts in France have forced hundreds of flights to be grounded, the budget airline said. 

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said: ‘Again today, we’ve had to cancel 400 flights, all of these have been cancelled because of the French ATC strikes. 

‘The vast majority of these flights are overflights. They are not going to France. They are flying from Britain to Spain, from Portugal to Germany, from Italy to Ireland.’

Air traffic controllers are needed to make contact during overflights – where planes are flying through the French airspace.

CEO Michael O’Leary said: ‘Again today, we’ve had to cancel 400 flights, all of these have been cancelled because of the French ATC strikes’

In a recorded statement, Mr O’Leary said: ‘I’m speaking to you this morning Tuesday from our Dublin operation centre with the bad news that again today we have had to cancel just about 400 flights of the 3200 flights we had scheduled to operate today.

‘All of these flights have been cancelled because of the latest French ATC strike.’

He expressed frustration that overflights are being cancelled rather than French domestic flights.

‘We respect the right of French ATC to strike but it should be French domestic flights or local flights to France that get cancelled,’ Mr O’Leary said.

‘There’s no reason why flights to Orly and flights to Charles de Gaulle are not being cancelled.

‘It’s absolutely indefensible that flights going from Ireland to Italy, from Poland to Portugal, or from Spain to Germany are being cancelled simply because the French want to prioritise their domestic flights and cancel all the overflights.’ 

He added that the French have alternatives to travel within the country, as they can take its high-speed train service or use motorways. 

Last week, Ryanair submitted a petition calling for the European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, to insist that France protects overflights during French ATC strikes. 

The petition was signed by over 1.1million of Ryanair’s ‘very fed up’ customers, Mr O’Leary said. 

The CEO added: ‘Spain, Italy and Greece already protect these overflights so that when their national ATC unions go on strike, the overflights are not disrupted. 

‘We are calling on the commission today for action.’ 

In his call to the commission, he added: ‘Europe is a single market. In a single market the overflights and skies over Europe must be protected. Take action.’