French air traffic controllers strike against pan-EU airspace plans
French air traffic controllers began a three-day strike on June 11 to protest European Union plans to create a single European airspace.
The European Commission wants to centralise air traffic controls, claiming that it would cut costs and reduce delays; air traffic controllers’ unions say that the plans will reduce public safety and result in worse working conditions air traffic controllers.
Roughly half of the flights in France were reportedly affected by the strike on June 11. The Air France flight from Paris to Sofia was delayed by about 90 minutes, according to Sofia Airport arrivals data, but it was not immediately clear whether this was caused by the strike.
Sofia Airport did not announce any flight cancellations for the duration of the strike, nor did it say whether its own traffic controllers would join the protest.
International news agencies reported that air traffic controllers in other European countries were to join the strike on June 12; according to a report by the BBC, these included Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Slovakia.
(Paris Orly airport. Photo: Michal Sänger/flickr.com)
