Air traffic controllers strike: record mobilization this Thursday ? Forecasts

Air traffic controllers' unions are planning a "record mobilization" this Thursday, April 25. 70% of flights, or more, could be affected by the strike.

The air traffic controllers are angry and they want to make it known. The main union in the sector which represents 60% of the profession, followed since by all the union organizations of air traffic controllers, announced a day of strike this Thursday, April 25, 2024, while the spring holidays are still in full swing for many French people. And the movement will be "very strongly followed" according to the president of the National Federation of Aviation and its Trades (Fnam),  Pascal de Izaguirre, who gave a press conference on Tuesday, April 23.

A first estimate of the number of strikers among controllers provided by the airlines and obtained by Les & Eacute;chos bet until'à 70% of flights canceled this Thursday at the country's major airports, i.e. hundreds of cancellations and delays throughout the year. provide for travelers. But this proportion can still evolve, the strikers had until now this Tuesday noon to declare yourself. Everything leaves &agrav; think that the strike "will have a éhuge impact" on air traffic added the president of the Fnam. 

How many flights canceled at airports this Thursday, April 25 ?

"We have a record mobilization, and therefore we must expect ' very strong disturbances, & “very big delays”, insisted Monday evening a national secretary of the SNCTA at AFP. As many as three-quarters of air traffic controllers could go on strike nationally according to forecasts, depending on the weather conditions. Airports the number of canceled flights is expected to vary. However, it should remain consistent in all infrastructures. In Paris, the mobilization promises to be important: "We have been spoken to; 75% (of flights removed) Orly and 65% à Roissy-Charles de Gaulle" said Pascal de Izaguirre.

In the south of France too you have to expect ' flight cancellations. At Nice Cote d'Azur airport, up to 60% of flights should be disrupted. In Marseille, the forecasts are at a high level. hardly better with one flight in two which will be postponed or canceled according to Marseille Provence airport.

In terms of strikes, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) is taking a general stand. Usually its forecasts the day before the mobilization day. Travelers should a priori be kept informed of the situation of their flight on Tuesday. Note that French flights will not be the only ones affected, departing planes will also be affected. arrivals in foreign countries but crossing the sky above France also risk being affected by this rule ;ve underline Les Éechoes. According to the newspaper, it is indeed all air traffic in Europe that will be impacted. by the mobilization of French air traffic controllers.

Why are the controllers striking ?

At the origin of this strike: a new version of a protocol aimed at restructuring air navigation services deemed simply "unacceptable" by the main union in the sector, the SNCTA. In particular, there is a question of reorganizing the work of air traffic controllers in order to counterbalance the expected increase in air traffic. In exchange for this, hiring and pay increases are promised.

Begun fifteen months ago, the negotiations however seem to be slipping. The  SNCTA éeven evokes a "éfailure of conciliation", relays in particular Le Figaro. "The version published [by the DGAC editor's note] is in no way signable for the SNCTA which considers it as a provocation if this “is not an insult,” the union said on its website. A strike notice was therefore issued. deposited for the day of April 25.