A strike by air traffic controllers in France has led to the cancellation of 16 flights at Dublin Airport. The cancelled flights include routes to and from Paris, Nice, Biarritz, and Murcia in Spain. The strike is taking place over two days—July 4th and 5th—right at the start of Europe’s busy summer holiday season.
The Dublin Airport Authority confirmed that eight flights arriving and eight flights departing were affected. No cancellations have been reported at Cork Airport so far. Passengers are being told to check with their airlines for the latest updates.
Ryanair has cancelled 170 flights due to the strike, affecting around 30,000 passengers. The airline said the strike isn’t just affecting flights to and from France—it’s also disrupting flights flying over French airspace. This includes routes between the UK and Greece, and between Spain and Ireland.
Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary criticized the disruption and called on the European Union to step in. He wants changes that would keep flights running smoothly even when strikes happen, especially for planes just flying over France.
The French aviation authority had asked airlines to cut flights at Paris airports by 40% on July 4th because of the strike.
This disruption adds to other recent travel issues, including flight cancellations due to conflict in the Middle East. Ryanair said last month it cancelled more than 800 flights because of tensions between Israel and Iran.
