CALL ON URSULA VON DER LEYEN TO TAKE ACTION AND PROTECT EU OVERFLIGHTS DURING REPEATED ATC STRIKES

Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 airline, has today (5^th June) called on the EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen to take urgent action to protect overflights and EU citizens’ freedom of movement during the French ATC strike taking place today, Mon 5^th and tomorrow, Tues 6^th June.

In the past 5 months of 2023, there has been 58 days of ATC strikes (over 11 times more than in 2022). These repeated ATC strikes have unfairly forced airlines to disproportionately cancel thousands of EU overflights from Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK and Ireland while France in particular, uses Minimum Service Laws to protect their domestic/short-haul flights while cancelling overflights. This is unfair. France (and all other EU states) should use Minimum Service Laws to protect overflights during ATC strikes as they do in Greece, Italy and Spain.

Last week, Ryanair delivered its ‘Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open’ petition to EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen’s office, having collected more than 1.1 million signatures from fed-up passengers demanding that the EU Commission protect overflights and EU citizens’ freedom of movement during repeated ATC strikes. Despite this, EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has unsurprisingly done nothing to protect these passengers as hundreds more EU overflights are cancelled again due to the French ATC strike taking place today and tomorrow.

We call on the EU Commission, under Ursula von der Leyen to:

– Respect the strike rights of ATC unions, but

– Protect 100% of overflights (like Greece, Italy & Spain) during national ATC strikes

– If ATC strikes require cancellations, then allocate these to domestic/short-haul flights to/from the affected State

– Enforce binding arbitration for ATC disputes before strike action

– Require a 21-day notice of strike action

– Require a 72h notice of employee participation in ATC strikes to minimise passenger disruption

A Ryanair spokesperson said:

“Last week, Ryanair delivered our ‘Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open’ petition to EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen’s office, having collected more than 1.1 million signatures from fed-up passengers demanding that the EU Commission protect overflights and EU citizens’ freedom of movement during repeated ATC strikes.

It is utterly unacceptable that Ursula von der Leyen is ignoring these more than 1.1 million passengers, who are sick and tired of having their overflights cancelled at short notice due to repeated ATC strikes. As a result, hundreds more overflights are being disproportionately cancelled by yet another French ATC strike taking place today, 5^th and tomorrow, 6^th June.

It is completely impermissible that ATC strikes can result in the cancellation of thousands of EU passengers’ flights, while France and other EU Member States use Minimum Service Laws to protect their domestic flights. If ATC unions insist on striking, which is their right, then they should cancel flights to/from the affected State and protect overflights, not cancel EU overflights from Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK.

The EU Commission must now take urgent action and insist that all States protect overflights during ATC strikes as is already done in Greece, Italy and Spain.”