Almost all flights between Ireland and France have been cancelled today due to industrial action by French air traffic controllers.
Ryanair said it had been forced to cancel all its 32 scheduled flights in and out of France during the 36-hour stoppage.
Aer Lingus, meanwhile, cancelled all its five fights scheduled for today and said further disruption was possible tomorrow.
Only two Air France flights will travel between Ireland and France today, the 9 a.m. Dublin-Paris and the 6 p.m. return flight. The airline said services would return to normal tomorrow.
The industrial action, which began at 7 p.m. last night and is due to end at 7 a.m. tomorrow, is in protest against proposals to standardise air traffic control in the European Union. It coincides with a two-day meeting of EU transport ministers which concludes today.
In a statement, Ryanair said it had contacted as many as possible of the approximately 3,000 affected passengers. The airline said alternative travel dates would be offered and if these were not suitable it would offer passengers a full refund on the unused sector of their itinerary.
"Ryanair sincerely regrets the inconvenience to our passengers; however the situation is beyond our control," the statement added.
A spokesman for Aer Lingus said it, too, would facilitate people in terms of rescheduling flights. "We will fly them somewhere else if they want to, or refund if nothing suitable can be found." For information, passengers can contact Ryanair at (01) 609 7839, Aer Lingus at (01) 886 8888, or Air France at (01) 844 5633.
