Mass Flight Cancellations in France as Air Traffic Controllers Strike Amid Summer Travel Rush

Last Updated Jul - 04 - 2025, 03:29 PM | Source : Fela News

Around 40% of flights were cancelled at Paris airports on July 4, 2025, due to a strike by French air traffic controllers demanding better conditions, causing m

Mass Flight Cancellations in France

Around 40% of flights were cancelled on Friday, July 4, 2025, at all Paris airports, disrupting travel plans for tens of thousands of passengers during the peak of the summer holiday season due to a strike by French air traffic controllers demanding improved working conditions. The disruptions began on Thursday, July 3, and worsened the following day. France’s civil aviation authority requested airlines to preemptively cancel 40% of flights at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle, Orly, and Beauvais airports, 50% in Nice, and 30% in cities like Marseille and Lyon. Despite these cancellations, the authority warned of significant delays and further disruptions nationwide.

Ryanair reported over 400 flight cancellations, affecting around 70,000 travelers. The airline said the strike impacted not just flights to and from France, but also those crossing French airspace. Ryanair called on the EU to reform air traffic control regulations.

The UNSA-ICNA union, one of the strike’s organizers, stated that staffing levels are insufficient for rising air travel demand and that inflation is eroding workers’ salaries. They also criticized recent reforms introduced after a near-miss incident at Bordeaux airport, which seek stricter monitoring of controllers’ performance.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot condemned the timing and demands of the strike, calling it unacceptable as it coincides with the start of summer holidays for French schoolchildren.

meta description: Around 40% of flights were cancelled at Paris airports on July 4, 2025, due to a strike by French air traffic controllers demanding better conditions, causing major disruptions for tens of thousands of travelers.