Ryanair cancelling ‘up to 100 flights’ over French strike

Ryanair is cancelling flights this weekend because of a strike by French air traffic control (ATC) workers.

In a statement the Irish airline said it expected “up to 100 flights” will have to be cancelled on Saturday and Sunday.

So far the only Irish flight that has been confirmed as cancelled is the Dublin-Nice return flight on Sunday.

The air traffic controller strike is also expected to cause “significant” delays to other flights both between and over France this weekend, due to what Ryanair described as “unjustified strike action.”

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A spokesman for Ryanair said: “All affected customers have been contacted by email and text message and advised of their options: a full refund, rebooking on to the next available flight or transferring to an alternative flight.”

The airline advised passengers flying with them over the weekend to check the status of their flights on Ryanair.com.

Aer Lingus has also placed a warning on its website to advise passengers of "flight disruptions this weekend" due to the industrial action.

The airline advised passengers flying this weekend to check the status of their flight online before heading to the airport.

The airline said 16 of its 52 flights to and from France this week were at risk of disruption. It said Nice, Marseilles and Lyons were the affected airports. A total of 2,500 guests are currently booked to travel on these flights and could potentially be adversely impacted.

Aer Lingus said in a statement: “Last weekend alone, eight Aer Lingus flights involving 1,115 guests were affected. Since April almost 3,500 guests have had their travel arrangements disrupted by air traffic control strikes in France and Italy. We pride ourselves on offering our guests a high quality, four star service, but that is extremely difficult to deliver in the face of such disruption.”

It said if flights were cancelled, affected guests could opt to be accommodated on the next available flight, rebook their flight free of charge, or cancel and apply for a refund.

In its statement, Ryanair called on the European Commission to take action to “prevent more ATC strikes and staff shortages disrupting the travel plans of Europe’s consumers this summer”.

On Friday morning, staff shortages among French and German air traffic controllers caused delays to 42 Ryanair flights.