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French air traffic controllers call fresh strikes

French air traffic controllers have filed a three-day strike notice - the latest action in their ongoing dispute over working conditions.

Published: 5 June 2024 12:37 CEST
Updated: 9 June 2024 16:46 CEST
French air traffic controllers call fresh strikes
Disruption is likely as French air traffic controllers file a strike notice. Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP

UPDATE: This strike has been cancelled, according to reporting by Les Echos. See the latest here.

The air traffic controllers’ union at Paris’ Orly airport has filed a strike notice covering June 11th, 12th and 13th.

The exact level of disruption will depend on how many air traffic controllers heed the UNSA-ICNA union’s call, but a strike two weeks ago by the same union saw 70 percent of flights in and out of Orly airport cancelled.

Other French airports were unaffected.

The French civil aviation authority will announce the level of cancellations required 48 hours in advance, and then it is up to airlines to decide which flights to cancel.

Airlines generally try to prioritise long-haul flights, but anyone with a flight booked should check with their airline before travelling to the airport.

The UNSA-ICNA union has denounced planned changes to French air traffic control which they say will adversely affect the working conditions of their members, and are also concerned about what they say is the “second class status” of Paris’ smaller Orly airport. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

Paris night-trains to Berlin and Vienna suspended for summer works

The recently-inaugurated night trains between the European capitals of Paris, Berlin and Vienna will be suspended for two months for important works, officials have said.

Published: 27 June 2024 12:06 CEST
Paris night-trains to Berlin and Vienna suspended for summer works

The sleeper service between the capitals of France and Germany was reinstated last December after not running for nearly a decade – but just months later, the overnight rail service will be halted for essential works.

French rail operator SNCF said: “Between August 12th and October 26th, SNCF Réseau will carry out major works on the Epernay-Château-Thierry section of the French rail network, which will prevent night trains from running as smoothly as possible.

“At the same time, various works will be taking place in Germany along the Berlin-Mannheim line, notably between Halle and Eisenach, which could lead to detours and longer journey times.” 

This work will also mean that connections between Vienna and Brussels are suspended.

“Transporters have sought alternative solutions in conjunction with infrastructure managers, but all of them create risks of irregularity or even unexpected cancellations … due to a lack of alternative routes and the possibility of bypass”, explains SNCF.

“Based on these findings, and in order to avoid significant train cancellations, significant delays and other inconveniences for our customers, the partners of the Nightjet offer have decided to implement a temporary interruption of the lines.”

SNCF said that no customers were affected, because no tickets had been sold on the night trains over the affected period.

The Nightjet service between Vienna and Brussels is not affected by this interruption and will continue to operate three times a week as usual.

Closed in 2014, the 13-hour night train service between Paris and Berlin reopened on December 11th, 2023, and was championed as a revival of sleeper services, a means of transport which is coming back into favour due to its lower climate impact.

The line is operated by Deutsche Bahn, SNCF and ÖBB which supplies the “Nightjet” rolling stock, which offer superior comfort to the night trains offered by the SNCF.

However, since this relaunch it has been the victim of numerous problems leading to significant delays. 

Work carried out on the infrastructure should precisely offer “a better quality of service with more robustness for train circulation,” SNCF said.

“There is strong demand for night train travel in Europe and ÖBB plans to continue investing in new and higher-capacity trains.”

The Paris-Vienna night train was relaunched in 2021, although Covid-related travel restrictions meant that the service initially struggled to attract passengers. Since then it has become a popular overnight route.

READ ALSO Where can you get a night train from Paris?

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