Ryanair today, (Thurs, 29 Sept) calls on the UK, Irish, Italian and Spanish Govts to take action to protect their citizens and overflights to/from their countries which would prevent thousands of British, Irish, Italian and Spanish citizens’ flights being cancelled due to French ATC Strikes, which despite false French promises, have again today caused mass disruption of air travel to/from these countries.

Ryanair complained that once again today the French Govt used minimum service legislation to protect French flights and French citizens while instead causing delays and cancellations for thousands of passengers travelling to UK, Ireland, Italy and Spain which simply overfly France. Since the EU Commission has repeatedly failed to protect Europe’s single market for air travel, Ryanair now calls on these individual Govts to protect their citizens and their flight schedules by demanding that overflights over France are no longer hijacked by tiny French ATC unions who close the skies over France for passengers travelling to these countries while protecting the flights of French citizens and French domestic flights.

Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary said:

“We’re fed up with these repeated flight disruptions and cancellations caused by tiny French ATC unions, and the French Govt policy of using minimum services to protect French flights for French citizens while disrupting thousands of flights overflying France for thousands of EU citizens who are not travelling to/from France.

The EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen continues to stand idly by while Europe’s single market for air travel is wrecked again and again by these tiny French ATC unions, and if the EU Commission won’t act to protect its citizens, then national Govt must intervene.”