What’s happening?
Airlines have warned that hundreds of thousands of passengers could be affected as air traffic controllers in France go on strike.
The strike is expected to cause delays and cancellations to flights across western Europe and beyond.
Similar past strikes have caused thousands of flight cancellations.
It has been called by the SNCTA union over pay and how the air traffic control system is run.
The group has complained of “mistrust, punitive practices, and harsh managerial methods” from bosses.
When is it happening?
The SNCTA has called the strike for October 7 to October 10.
However, airlines will not know which flights are affected and which will need to be cancelled until just before the industrial action begins.
What happened last time?
The last strike by air traffic controllers in France, called by two other unions, was in July.
It caused the cancellation of around 3,000 flights and affected approximately 50,000 passengers.
That strike also caused delays on more than 10 per cent of the flights that did run - at an average of 40 minutes.
The aviation coordinator Eurocontrol estimated the action cost the industry £104 million.
Which airlines are affected?
Ryanair and Easyjet are among the many airlines that will be hit by the strike.
Both companies have warned passengers to expect severe disruption.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has said around 600 flights a day could have to be cancelled.
This would mean that 100,000 passengers with Ryanair alone would be affected by the strike.
He said: “We cannot have a situation in the EU where we have a single market yet we close that market every time the French go on strike.
“They have the right to strike, but if flights are to be cancelled they should be flights arriving to and from France. They should not be overflights.”
Easyjet bosses issued a similar warning and called for the strike to be addressed.
The company’s CEO, Kenton Jarvis, said: “While this is outside of our control, we will be doing all we can to minimise the impact this will have on our customers. Our passengers and crew have been impacted by ATC related disruption for too long and so a solution must be found.
“We are calling on the new head of the French aviation authority to urgently address this issue by building more resilience into the system and crucially, by protecting overflying on strike days to ensure the travel plans of passengers whose flights do not take off or land in France are not needlessly ruined.
“We need action on this now, so the rest of Europe is not held hostage when French Air Traffic Controllers go on strike.”
