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Air passengers face disruption over French strike

The strike by air traffic controllers in France is expected to impact hundreds of flights across Europe
The strike by air traffic controllers in France is expected to impact hundreds of flights across Europe

Intending plane passengers are facing disruption over the coming days because of a strike by air traffic controllers in France.

The 36-hour industrial action began on Monday evening and is due to end on Wednesday morning.

Hundreds of flights across Europe are expected to be disrupted, with some flights from Irish airports at risk of being cancelled.

The French Civil Aviation Authority has said flight delays and last-minute cancellations cannot be ruled out.

Intending passengers are being asked to check their airline websites for updates.

A spokesperson for Aer Lingus has said it is operating its schedule as planned today.

However, it will continue to monitor the scale of the impact and will notify customers directly of any changes to flights.

Ryanair has warned that hundreds of flights will be cancelled across Europe from this evening until Wednesday morning.

Last week, Ryanair handed in a petition with over a million signatures to the European Commission, demanding that it take action to protect overflights across the union during air traffic control strikes to keep skies open.

Ryanair Group Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said that Europe's passengers were sick and tired of suffering unnecessary overflight cancellations.

So far, there have been 57 days of air traffic control strikes in France this year, which have led airlines to cancel thousands of flights across Europe.