Ryanair is calling on the governments of the UK, Ireland, Italy, and Spain to take action to prevent thousands of flights from being cancelled due to strikes by French air traffic controllers. The Irish airline has posted on its corporate website, saying that these strikes, which are going ahead despite "false French promises", will cause mass disruption of air travel to and from these countries.
"Once again the French Government used minimum service legislation to protect French flights and French citizens, causing delays and cancellations for thousands of passengers travelling to the UK, Ireland, Italy, and Spain instead, which simply fly over France.”
“Since the EU Commission has repeatedly failed to protect Europe’s single market for air travel, Ryanair now calls on these individual Governments to protect their citizens and their flight schedules by demanding that flights over France are no longer hijacked by tiny French ATC (air traffic control) unions who close the skies for passengers travelling to these countries while protecting the flights of French citizens and French domestic flights," the post said.
It then goes on to quote Ryanair CEO, Michael O'Leary, as follows: “We’re fed up with these repeated flight disruptions and cancellations caused by tiny French ATC unions, and the French Government policy of using minimum services to protect French flights for French citizens, while disrupting thousands of flights overflying France for thousands of EU citizens who are not travelling to and from France," he said.
"It is time for a change. The EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen continues to stand idly by while Europe’s single market for air travel is wrecked again and again by these tiny French ATC unions, and if the EU Commission won’t act to protect its citizens, then national Governments must intervene instead.”
