French Air Traffic Chaos Looms: Massive Strikes to Cripple Flights Nationwide

The mobilization will begin on September 10 at the call of SUD Aérien and the CGT Air France. It will intensify on September 18 with the participation of the SNCTA, the majority union among air traffic controllers, which has filed a national strike notice. Other organizations such as FO and the CFDT Air France will also join the movement that day. The main pilots’ union (SNPL) has indicated that it will not participate.

These strikes are part of a context of opposition to cost-cutting measures announced by the government. The unions are particularly opposed to cuts in public services and a reform of unemployment insurance. The SNCTA air traffic controllers are demanding a "full catch-up of inflation" on wages and denounce a failure of social dialogue with their supervisory authority.

The consequences for passengers are expected to be significant, particularly at the Parisian airports of Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly, but also throughout the territory. Although Air France or Royal Air Maroc have not yet detailed the extent of the adaptations, previous movements suggest the cancellation of 25% of flights in the Île-de-France airports, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of travelers through cancellations and significant delays.