The French sky is still disturbed and will be even more so this Thursday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) is asking airlines to cancel 30% of their flights Thursday at Paris-Orly and 20% at other airports due to the strike by air traffic controllers against the pension reform, announced this administration to AFP on Wednesday.
The Marseille-Provence, Toulouse-Blagnac and Lyon-Saint-Exupéry platforms are affected by the cancellation of one in five flights departing or arriving during the ninth day of mobilization against the reform in France, and the first since the use of 49.3, according to the same source.
These instructions seem to reflect a greater mobilization of air traffic controllers than that observed in recent days, since the DGAC had requested the cancellation of 20% of flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, and only at Orly and Marseille. These measures, intended to bring forecast traffic into line with the number of controllers expected at their posts, may concern, in addition to airports, certain en route air navigation centers (CRNA) guiding aircraft flying over national territory.
Possible delays and cancellation
Air France indicated for its part that it planned to ensure Thursday, as well as Tuesday and Wednesday, “95% of its flight program, including all of its long-haul flights and its flights to and from Paris -Charles de Gaulle”, the first French airport. Nevertheless, “last minute delays and cancellations cannot be ruled out,” the company warned. For its part, Transavia, “low-cost” of the Air France-KLM group, has listed on its website around thirty flights canceled for Thursday.
On Wednesday, the movement of controllers seems to have mainly had an effect on traffic at Basel-Mulhouse and Toulouse-Blagnac airports, with average arrival delays of 45 minutes and more than an hour respectively, according to the table. DGAC online dashboard. Aircraft transiting through the area managed by the CRNA in Reims are experiencing “very significant delays” early Wednesday afternoon, according to the pan-European traffic monitoring body, Eurocontrol.
Since the start of the mobilization, the DGAC has invited passengers who can to postpone their trip and to inquire with their company to find out the status of their flight.