Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Sun, 6 July) renewed its call on EU President, Ursula von der Leyen, to quit if she will not take action to urgently reform EU ATC services, as a tiny handful of French Air Traffic Controllers cause further mass delays across Europe by engaging in two more days of recreational strikes yesterday (Sat, 5 July) and today (Sun, 6 July). Ryanair was already forced to cancel over 400 flights disrupting over 70,000 passengers this week as a result of these recreational French ATC strikes which have now been extended for a fourth day (6 July).

It is completely unacceptable that two or three French Air Traffic Controllers can simply decide to extend these recreational French ATC strikes without any notice and ruin the travel plans of thousands of EU passengers and their families over one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.  Meanwhile EU President Ursula von der Leyen has failed to take any action to reform Europe’s ATC service (as she has failed to do for the last 6 years). As a result, EU passengers are now being held to ransom once again by a handful of French Air Traffic Controllers.

Ryanair calls on Ursula von der Leyen to take urgent action to reform EU ATC services by;

   1.) ensuring that ATC services are fully staffed for the first wave of daily departures, and

   2.) protecting overflights during national ATC strikes.

These two simple reforms would eliminate 90% of all ATC delays and protect EU passengers from these repeated and avoidable ATC disruptions due to yet another recreational French ATC strike.