By Julia Payne
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Ryanair delivered a petition signed by 1.1 million EU passengers to the European Commission on Wednesday, demanding that overflights be protected from air traffic control (ATC) strikes, particularly in France.
CEO Michael O’Leary told reporters that due to France’s location and airspace, the cancellation of flights merely passing through French airspace during local strikes was particularly disruptive and polluting.
“The next French strike is due June 6-7 and our flights are full and we’re being forced to cancel flights. There is a simple solution for this. Other member states have laws that protect overflights,” O’Leary said.
Ryanair said it called on the Commission to protect 100% of overflights, require a 21-day notice of strike action and a 72 hour notice of employee participation in ATC strikes, among other measures.
Europe’s biggest airline said in a statement that the first five months of the year had 57 days of ATC strikes that forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights. The rate of strikes was 10 times more than in 2022.
“France in particular uses minimum service laws to protect their domestic and short-haul flights while disproportionately cancelling overflights,” Ryanair said in a statement.
“France … should copy the example of Spain, Italy and Greece.”
(Reporting by Julia Payne; editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)
