Hundreds of flights cancelled over French airline strike

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hundreds of flights in France were cancelled on Tuesday, February 7 including 40 percent out of Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, as unions ratcheted up pressure on day two of a strike over labor rights, AP reported.

Air France forecast that it could guarantee just 50 percent of long-distance flights Tuesday, after running 85 percent of them on Monday.

The airline, among the world’s biggest, said in a statement that 70 percent of short- and medium-range flights would be maintained.

At the heart of the dispute is the right to strike itself. Unions representing pilots, cabin, ground crews and others called the walkout to protest a draft law that would require air transport workers to give 48 hours notice before striking.

A spokesman for the Paris airport authority ADP said 40 percent of flights out of Charles de Gaulle were canceled on Tuesday. Most of those were announced to passengers the day before, the official said, but the airport also saw a few last-minute cancellations. The airport sees about 1,500 landings and take-offs per day on a normal day, he said.

At Paris’ Orly Airport, about 15 percent of flights were cancelled, the spokesman said.