Cancellations rise on second day of French air strike
Passengers travelling to Europe face a second day of disruption which is likely to be worse than yesterday as airlines have been forced to cancel a greater number of flights.
French Civil Aviation Authority, which yesterday ordered a 40% reduction in flights due to a 48 hour strike by French air traffic controllers, has today ordered the number of cancellations be increased to 50% on many routes.
While declining to say how many flights to and from France today, British Airways said some other short-haul flights are also likely to be hit by significant delays as they would normally use French airspace.
Ryanair confirmed it had cancelled 250 flights across Europe today, including 72 to and from the UK, while Flybe has been forced to cancel 26 from the UK.
Air France has been worst affected with up to 60% of its flights from some airports cancelled.
It will operate only half its medium-haul flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle, only one flight out of four from Paris Orly and 40% of flights from Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Nice and Nantes.
However, its long-haul flights are unaffected.
BA said it was trying to limit passenger disruption by using larger aircraft on some routes, where possible.
EasyJet urged passengers to check the status of their flights before travelling to the airport.
Further strikes by the SNCTA union are planned for April 16 to 18 and April 29 to May 2.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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