A4E condemns ATC strike in France on 03/04-Jul-2025
Airlines for Europe (A4E) stated (03-Jul-2025) it condemns the French air traffic control (ATC) strike, which lead to the cancellation of over 1500 flights, affecting approximately 300,000 passengers. As previously reported by CAPA, France's UNSA-ICNA union called ATC staff to strike on 03/04-Jul-2025 in order to protest against management practices at Direction des Services de la Navigation Aérienne. A4E managing director Ourania Georgoutsakou said: "There is intense discussion about passenger rights in the EU right now, yet policymakers have done little to fix ATC". A4E called for a passenger protection proposal at the EU level, which would include the following measures:
- Mandatory arbitration before ATC unions can threaten strike action;
- A 21 day notice period ahead of strikes;
- 72 hour confirmation of employee participation in strikes;
- Protection for overflights in countries affected by ATC strikes, without impacting flights flying to and from affected countries;
- Right of redress with air navigation service providers for the impact of disruption. [more - original PR]
Background ✨
Ryanair also urged the European Commission to implement measures protecting passengers during French ATC strikes, advocating for legal protection of overflights and binding arbitration requirements for unions, and noted its petition on this issue had garnered over 2.1 million signatures1. Previously, A4E highlighted that last-minute strike withdrawals still resulted in extensive cancellations and emphasised the need for EU-level passenger protection proposals2.