URSULA VON DER LEYEN SHOULD PROTECT EUROPEAN PASSENGERS OR RESIGN

Following yesterday’s (14 Feb) confirmation that French Air Traffic Control (ATC) will strike again this tomorrow (Thurs, 16 Feb) for the 5^th time this year (almost 1 per week), Ryanair is once again calling on the EU Commission under President, Ursula von der Leyen, to step up and take immediate action by protecting overflights which will prevent thousands of European passengers from being disrupted during unnecessary French ATC strikes.

Ursula von der Leyen and the European Commission are abandoning hundreds of thousands of passengers by repeatedly failing to protect the Free Movement of People and are allowing flights overflying France to be hijacked time after time by a small number of French Air Traffic Controllers who close the skies over France for EU passengers travelling to/from countries outside France while protecting French domestic flights for French citizens. If the President of the EU Commission cannot protect European passengers and keep European skies open during these repeated French ATC strikes, then she should step down and make room for someone that will protect European citizens.

Ryanair Director of Operations, Neal McMahon:

“It is completely unacceptable that European passengers will once again face disruption tomorrow (Thurs, 16 Feb) as result of yet another French ATC strike – the 5^th strike already this year – due to the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen’s failure to take any action to protect overflights during these unnecessary strikes by a small number of French Air Traffic Controllers.

Even passengers who are not flying to/from France are impacted because they overfly French Airspace, all the while French laws unfairly protect French domestic flights.

Ursula von der Leyen must immediately step up and preserve the Free Movement of People by protecting overflights from these needless strikes, as done in Italy and Greece, or step down and let someone who actually will protect its EU citizens from further disruption due to French ATC strikes.”