Air traffic controllers' strike: more than 2,400 flights canceled in Europe last Friday

Europe 1 with AFP 6:42 p.m., September 19, 2022

More than 2,400 air routes were canceled last Friday in Europe due to the strike of French air traffic controllers, according to a report published Monday by the Eurocontrol traffic monitoring body, and while a new strike is looming at the end of the month.

"More than 2,400 flights were canceled" during this social movement, while others suffered significant delays, of the order of 45 minutes for each flight over French territory, said the director general of Eurocontrol Eamonn Brennan, in a recap on her Twitter account.

Traffic was down in week 37 – mainly as a result of the French ATC strike on Friday, which saw >2,400 flights canceled and many more delayed@Transport_EU@ECACceac@CANSOEurope@ACI_EUROPE@A4Europe@IATA@eraaorg@EBAAorgpic.twitter.com/ eeK2iMhsNj

— Eamonn Brennan (@eurocontrolDG) September 19, 2022

According to the organization, 28,967 flights took place last Friday, against 31,450 the day before.

Over the week as a whole, the daily average was 29,438 flights per day, a drop of 2.2% compared to the previous week, again a consequence of the strike.

The social movement was launched by the National Union of Air Traffic Controllers (SNCTA, majority) to demand salary increases in the face of inflation, but also an acceleration of recruitment.

A new strike from September 28 to 30

The General Directorate of French Civil Aviation (DGAC) had asked the companies to give up half of their flight program for Friday, that is "about 1,000 canceled flights" departing from or arriving on French territory.

Ryanair, the leading air carrier on the Old Continent, had mentioned the cancellation of 420 flights "mainly flying over France", without necessarily landing there, and denounced an "unjustified" movement.

The SNCTA, which announced a new strike from September 28 to 30 inclusive, is concerned "about the current level of inflation as well as future recruitments".

The union wants to take advantage of this notice period "to negotiate", according to a press release released on Saturday.

These professionals are particularly alarmed by the planned retirement of a third of air navigation control engineers (ICNA) between 2029 and 2035.

However, "at least five years separate recruitment from qualification" and training capacities are "structurally limited".

It is therefore necessary, according to them, to anticipate this "wall of departures" from next year and to budget for training in this direction, but "after six months of negotiations to prepare this finance law [2023], the SNCTA still does not have any 'no concrete element or guarantees' responding to his requests.