Airline passengers travelling to France are facing delays and cancellations on Monday (18 December) as air traffic controllers hold their latest 24-hour strike.

Services from Paris Orly and Brest are suffering the greatest disruption due to the industrial action, with other airports including Lyon, Lille, Rouen and Poitiers also affected. Although services at France’s main hub Paris Charles de Gaulle are expected to operate as scheduled.

Airlines are also warning passengers that the industrial action may affect some overflights through French airspace to other countries. The strike is set to run until 8am on Tuesday (19 December).

France’s civil aviation authority DGAC has requested the cancellation of some flights from French airports to minimise disruption but said that delays were still to be “expected” during the strike period.

Air traffic controllers are striking due to new laws in France requiring individual workers to give at least two days’ notice if they plan to join any strike action.

EasyJet said in an update to passengers: “We have been advised of an air traffic control strike affecting flights flying in and out of Paris, Lyon, Lille and Brest, as well as flights over French airspace. We expect that there will be delays and some disruption due to the industrial action.”

Ryanair pointed out that there have been 67 days of strikes by air traffic controllers in Europe during 2023, which has forced airlines to cancel “thousands” of overflights to non-French destinations this year. The airline has called for the EU to protect overflights during these strikes.

“We have no problem with French ATC unions exercising their right to strike, but the European Commission should insist that cancellations due to national French strikes are allocated to French flights, not those overflying France flying to another EU destination,” added Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary.