64 DAYS OF ATC STRIKES SO FAR IN 2023 YET STILL NO ACTION FROM THE EU COMMISSION

PASSENGERS NEEDLESSLY SUFFER DISRUTPIONS ON FRIDAY 13^TH OCT DESPITE NOT EVEN FLYING TO/FROM FRANCE

Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 airline, has today (12^th Oct) again called on the EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen to take urgent action to protect overflights and EU citizens’ freedom of movement during the French ATC strike taking place Friday, 13^th Oct.

So far in 2023, there has been 64 days of ATC strikes (over 12 times more than in 2022) forcing airlines to cancel thousands of EU overflights from Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and the UK, while France 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.

Last month Ryanair delivered its ‘Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open’ petition to the EU Commission which now has over 1.8m signatures from fed-up passengers demanding that the EU Commission protect overflights and EU citizens’ freedom of movement during repeated ATC strikes. Despite this, Ursula von der Leyen, has still not taken action to protect EU passengers who are not even flying to/from France from suffering last minute cancellations due to French ATC strikes, as they will this Friday 13^th Oct.

Ryanair calls on Ursula von der Leyen to act on the petition of over 1.8m EU passengers and:

• Respect the strike rights of ATC unions
• Protect 100% of flights overflying strike affected countries
• Require 21-day advance notice of ATC strikes
• Require 72-hour advance notice of participation in ATC strikes

A Ryanair spokesperson said:

“It is disgraceful to think that French ATC are striking again this Friday, 13^th Oct – the 64^th day of ATC strikes in 2023 alone – and despite Ryanair’s repeated calls on Ursula von der Leyen and her College of Commissioners, they still have not taken any action to protect EU passengers from suffering needless disruptions during these ATC strikes. As a result, even more passengers will have their flights cancelled at short notice due to the French ATC strike on Friday, 13^th Oct, despite not even flying to/from France. This is because France unfairly uses Minimum Service Laws to protect French flights while forcing cancellations on overflights from Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and the UK.

We have no problem with French ATC unions exercising their right to strike, but the EU Commission should insist that cancellations due to national French strikes are allocated to French flights, not those overflying France en route to another unrelated EU destination.

Since Ryanair launched our ‘Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open’ petition  last March, we have collected more than 1.8m passenger signatures calling on Ursula von der Leyen to protect overflights and EU citizens’ freedom of movement during repeated ATC strikes. We delivered these signatures to the EU Commission last month, yet here we are a month later and still no action has been taken. It is utterly unacceptable that Ursula von der Leyen is ignoring these EU passengers, who are sick and tired of having their overflights cancelled at short notice due to repeated ATC strikes. If the EU Commission President is not willing to do her job, then she should resign and hand it over to a competent person who will.

Ursula von der Leyen must now take urgent action to protect overflights during the French ATC strike taking place tomorrow, Friday 13^th Oct, or answer to the 1.8m passengers who she has failed to protect by offering her resignation.”