Some 10% of flights departing or arriving from Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) will be canceled Thursday due to a social movement, we learned on Wednesday from the manager of the airport and authorities.
As a result of this strike, which affects the firefighters of France’s largest airport once morest the backdrop of wage negotiations and might extend to other categories of employees, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) “has asked the airlines to preventively cancel part of the flight schedule. We will thus be able to ensure more than 90% of the flights on the day”, indicated the ADP Group (Paris Airports) to AFP.
Passengers invited to anticipate
More specifically, the DGAC has ordered carriers to cancel 17% of their flights between 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., a spokeswoman for the administration told AFP, all for questions of security of airport operations. “We invite passengers to check the news of their flight with their company and to anticipate their arrival at the airport: three hours for an international flight, two hours for a domestic or European flight,” said ADP.
From the same source, “Groupe ADP is in permanent contact with the various operational actors of Paris-CDG, airlines and air navigation, to limit the impact of these strikes. We will mobilize all our information channels so that passengers can best prepare for their journey”.
A movement planned until Sunday
For its part, Air France, one of the main user companies of Paris-Charles de Gaulle, underlined that it had been forced to cancel more than 10% of its short and medium-haul flights taking off or landing from CDG, i.e. 62 movements. of planes. Long-haul flights will not be affected. “Our flight schedule is up to date” and affected travelers have been informed, said a spokesperson for the company, even if “last minute delays and cancellations are (…) not to be excluded”.
This strike by firefighters comes before a multi-sector movement at Groupe ADP scheduled from Friday to Sunday to demand wage increases. “We are still awaiting confirmation of the number of strikers and its potential impact on air traffic,” according to the manager.
“For the following days, Air France will adapt its program if necessary”, added for its part the company, which “regrets this social movement which occurs at a time when air transport as a whole is barely recovering from an unprecedented crisis. due to the pandemic of Covid-19.