Brussels, 24 April 2024- Europe’s largest airlines and hundreds of thousands of passengers have been left in limbo despite the French SNCTA union withdrawing its notice of strike action at the eleventh hour. Airlines still do not have full clarity this afternoon of what French ATC capacity will be tomorrow, meaning there will still be significant disruption for flight operations and passengers.

In advance of the strike, airlines had been forced to cancel more than 2,000 flights, the majority of which would have landed or departed from France. Another 1,000 flights would have had to divert away from French airspace causing further delays and disruption.

The strike was set to be one of the largest ATC strikes in years and comes after 2023 saw 16,000 flight cancellations, 85,000 delayed flights and 20 million passengers being impacted due to ATC strikes.

This illustrates why A4E’s call for a passenger protection proposal at EU level remains critically important for providing certainty and predictability for airlines across Europe. The proposal would see:

• a legally binding requirement for arbitration with unions ahead of strike action;
• a 21-day notice period ahead of strikes;
• 72-hour confirmation of employee participation in strikes; and protection for overflights over countries affected by ATC strikes, without impacting flights flying to and from the country affected

“While the withdrawing of strike notice may offer some relief for some passengers, its last-minute nature means that there will still be significant disruption to flights in France and across parts of Europe tomorrow”, said Ourania Georgoutsakou Managing Director, A4E.

“This is a clear illustration of why we need an EU framework for minimising disruption from ATC strikes and for providing advance clarity and certainty on ATC capacity across Europe. Airline operations cannot be turned on and off like a light switch. Airlines will be working hard to fly as many flights as possible tomorrow but the last-minute about turn by the largest union involved will likely be too little too late for many, ” Georgoutsakou added.

Airlines for Europe (A4E) is Europe’s largest airline association. Based in Brussels, A4E works with policymakers to ensure aviation policy continues to connect Europeans with the world in a safe, competitive and sustainable manner. With a modern fleet of over 3,600 aircraft, A4E airlines carried over 718 million passengers in 2023 and served nearly 2,100 destinations. Each year, A4E members transport more than 5 million tons of vital goods and equipment to more than 360 destinations either by freighters or passenger aircraft. A4E is #FlyingForOurFuture with our commitment to Europe and our call to action for incoming policymakers. Find our more at flyingforourfuture.eu