Cork, Shannon, and Dublin airports affected as Ryanair cancels over 300 flights
Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS departs Cork Airport. Picture: Larry Cummins
Ryanair has cancelled more than 300 flights affecting some 50,000 passengers on Thursday due to French air traffic strikes.
The strikes will impact flights travelling directly to and from France, as well as those travelling through French airspace.
Flights to and from Cork, Shannon, and Dublin airports are among those affected.
Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary called on EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to protect EU airspace.
“French air traffic controllers are free to go on strike, that’s their right, but we should be cancelling French flights, not flights leaving Ireland, going to Italy, or flights from Germany to Spain or Scandinavia to Portugal.
“The European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen has failed for 5 years to take any action to protect overflights and the single market for air travel. We’re again calling on her to take action to protect overflights which will eliminate over 90% of these flight cancellations,” he said.
Ryanair has cancelled scheduled flights between Cork Airport and Paris's Charles de Gaulle.
At Shannon Airport, meanwhile, flights to and from Paris and Béziers have been cancelled, while Ryanair has also cancelled a number of flights to and from Dublin Airport, including links to Nice, La Rochelle, Toulouse, Lyon, and Paris.
Mr O’Leary urged citizens to "take action" to protect overflying when voting in the European elections this summer.
“In June, we will have European elections, we encourage everyone to vote in these elections and demand your MEP and the European Commission to take action to protect overflights. We can’t have the skies over Europe repeatedly closed because French Air Traffic Controllers are going on strike.”
France's DGAC civil aviation authority said on Wednesday it had asked airlines to cancel 75% of Thursday's flights at Paris Orly airport, 55% of flights at Paris Charles-De-Gaulle and 65% of flights at Marseille.
Air traffic control strikes in France frequently impact travel in Europe, limiting not only flights into France but also across the country's airspace.
Some 16,000 flights were cancelled and 85,000 delayed last year due to air traffic control strikes in Europe.
Airline officials have also voiced concerns that air traffic control strikes could pose a risk to the Paris Olympics if sufficient deals aren't struck in advance.
With over a million travellers expected to pass in and out of Paris during the Games, strikes could cause even wider spread disruption.
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