Around 1,000 flights had been cancelled on Friday morning, after the DGAC asked companies to cancel 40 per cent of flights to deal with the strike.

The government has condemned the strike, with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou telling BFMTV that “choosing the day when everyone goes on holiday to go on strike at air traffic control is taking the French hostage”.

“UNACCEPTABLE”

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot told CNews that “yesterday and today, 272 people in our country will impact the well-being of more than 500,000 people”.

“This is unacceptable,” he said.

UNSA-ICNA, the second biggest labour group in the sector, launched the action to protest against “chronic understaffing”, the planned introduction of a clock-in system, outdated equipment and “toxic management practices that are incompatible with the requirements of calm and safety”.

It was joined by the third-largest union, USAC-CGT, but the main union, SNCTA, has not joined the action.

The effects of the strike are not limited to France, and the stoppage has triggered hundreds of cancellations of flights that fly over the country.

The European Airlines for Europe (A4E) association said 1,500 flights would be cancelled on Thursday and Friday in Europe, affecting 300,000 passengers.

“French air traffic control already delivers some of Europe’s worst delay figures, and now the actions of a minority of French air traffic control workers will needlessly disrupt the holiday plans of thousands of people in France and across Europe,” said A4E chief Ourania Georgoutsakou.

The association said the strikes also caused “almost 500,000 minutes” in delays in Europe on Thursday on nearly 33,000 commercial flights.

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