Flights disrupted as French air traffic controllers walk out

PARIS (AP) — Many domestic and some international flights were canceled in France Friday as air traffic controllers went on a national strike over pay and recruitment issues.

French civil aviation authority DGAC warned that domestic traffic would be “severely disrupted” with many flights canceled and other experiencing long delays. Travelers have been advised to postpone their trip if possible.

Air France said it has canceled 55% of its short- and medium-haul flights and 10% of its long-haul flights. The company could not rule out further delays and last-minute cancellations, it said in a statement.

Other companies operating in France, including Ryanair, Easyjet and Volotea, have also canceled flights.

Mamadou Souré, 42, arrived Friday morning at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport from Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

“We were supposed to take a flight to Milan at 9:30 a.m. but it was canceled, but thank God we found a flight at 1:30 p.m. for Turin. We’ll see if we can make it to Milan from there,” he said.

Maria Oudon, from Orlando, Florida, was relieved to see her flight mentioned as “on time” on the airport’s board. “We did spend all night worrying about it because they said to possibly change your flight or have other options. And we still came because we had to take our daughter to school,” she said.

France’s main union of air traffic controllers, the SNCTA, called the one-day strike to demand higher pay amid soaring inflation and demanding more staff to be hired in the coming years.