Ryanair cancelled about 400 flights, about 12.5% of its operations due to another strike call by the French air traffic controllers, amounting to almost 40 days of strikes this year. Most of the cancelled flights were not departing from or flying to France.
Blaming the European Commission for the cancelations, Michael O'Leary, Chief Executive, Ryanair said: “People flying across France are having their flights unnecessarily canceled because the European Commission... will not take action."
Recently, Ryanair submitted a petition signed by over 1.1 million customers, calling for the Commission to protect France overflights
"We're calling on the Commission today for action, protect overflights. We respect the right of ATCs to strike but if they strike, cancel the national flights. There is no reason why flights to Orly and Charles de Gaulle are not being canceled,” O'Leary added.
The petition submitted to the European Commission requests that all overflights be protected, and that should delay and cancelations be required, to affect flights originating and terminating in France. Ryanair also asked that binding arbitration be required before strike action, enforce a 21-day notice of strike action, and require a 72-hour notice of employee participation in strikes.
When the petition was created, French ATC strikes had affected well over half a million Ryanair passengers in three months.