Warning for thousands of Irish as flights cancelled due to major strike

Posted by Admin November 20, 2023 Travel

RYANAIR has been forced to cancel a number of flights today – mainly those flying over France.

Bosses warned passengers of the cancellations as the French Air Traffic Control strike continues.

Ryanair has been forced to cancel a number of flights todayCredit: PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images

Ryanair passengers affected were contacted by the airline.

They said affected passengers have been notified of their options to change flights which is free of charge.

Or passengers can receive a full refund.

In their statement, the low budget airline highlighted that there has already been 64 days of ATC strikes in 2023 alone.

They said: “Due to the French ATC strike on Monday (20th Nov), we have been forced to cancel a number of flights mainly overflying France.

“Affected passengers have been notified of their options to change flights (free of charge) or receive a full refund.”

These strikes have resulted in many airlines being forced to cancel thousands of overflights from Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland and the UK.

They said: “So far in 2023, there has been 65 days of ATC strikes (over 13 times more than in 2022) forcing airlines to cancel thousands of EU overflights from Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and the UK, while France in particular uses Minimum Service Laws to protect French flights.

“This is unfair. France (and all other EU states) should protect overflights during ATC strikes as they do in Spain, Italy and Greece, and cancel flights to/from the affected State.”

The airline chiefs called on the EU Commission President to take action.

Their petition ‘Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open’ has 2,030,025 signatures currently.

They said: “Ryanair calls on the EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, to take urgent action to protect overflights and EU citizens’ freedom of movement during ATC strikes and calls on passengers to join our call on the EU Commission by signing our ‘Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open’ petition as over two million fed up passengers have already done.”

Ryanair bosses apologised to customers and explained it’s beyond their control.

They added: “Ryanair sincerely apologises to affected passengers for any inconvenience as a result of these French ATC strike disruptions, which are beyond Ryanair’s control.”