The majority air traffic controllers union has announced the lifting of its strike notice. While up to 60% of flights were to be canceled at French airports this Thursday, April 25, will these cancellations be maintained?
Air traffic controllers were angry, but they eventually managed to find common ground during negotiations on measures to overhaul air traffic control in France. Thus, while all the union organizations in the sector called for a strike this Thursday, April 25, the majority union that is the SNCTA announced that it was lifting its strike notice in a statement published this Wednesday morning, on the eve of the mobilization.
An agreement was reached during discussions which continued from Tuesday evening until 8:30 a.m. this Wednesday according to the union. “Given the extremely short deadline linked to this last minute conciliation, each controller can cancel his prior declaration [de grève]despite the deadline of ‘6 p.m. the day before the day’ having passed”, explained the SNCTA on its website.
The majority union representing 60% of the profession and having renounced the strike, the mobilization initially planned for this Thursday could be less significant, or even minimal. But will the SNCTA’s decision be followed by other trade union organizations? Some strikers could therefore decide to follow the movement despite everything. In addition, given the estimates on the number of strikers made before the notice was lifted, several airlines and airports announced flight cancellations. If some planes could finally leave as planned with the return of air traffic controllers on duty, others could still remain on the ground, due to lack of time to reorganize departures.
On Tuesday, between 60% and 70% of flights were at risk of being canceled at all French airports according to estimates. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) could specify the conditions and rate of flights maintained after the lifting of the strike notice during the day. This Wednesday morning, no information has filtered out regarding the operational consequences of the lifting of the SNCTA notice,
How many flights were to be canceled this Thursday, April 25?
Before reaching an agreement and giving up the strike, the majority union SNCTA called for “record mobilization”. A call heard since several French airports have announced numerous disruptions and in certain infrastructures more than half of the flights had to be canceled, particularly in Paris airports. “We were told about 75% (of flights canceled) at Orly and 65% at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle,” said Tuesday the president of the National Federation of Aviation and its Professions (Fnam), Pascal de Izaguirre .
In the south of France too, suppressions have been planned. We had to expect to see 70% of flights canceled at Nice Côte d’Azur airport, 65% cancellations in Marseille or even 60% at Toulouse airport according to BFMTV. While hundreds of cancellations or delays were expected, will the situation improve after the announcement of the lifting of the strike notice?
Travelers were notified Tuesday evening of the continuation or cancellation of their flight, the striking air traffic controllers being obliged to declare themselves two days before the mobilization at the latest. These same travelers must be vigilant about the possible rescheduling of their flight on airline sites. For travelers whose flight was not affected by the strike, no changes should disrupt the trip.
Why did the controllers call a strike?
At the origin of this strike: a new version of a protocol aimed at restructuring air navigation services deemed simply “unacceptable” by the main union in the sector, the SNCTA. It is notably a question of reorganizing the work of air traffic controllers in order to counterbalance the expected increase in air traffic. In exchange for this, hiring and pay increases are promised.
Started fifteen months ago, the negotiations have stalled for a long time. Until Wednesday April 24, the SNCTA spoke of a “failure of conciliation”, relaying in particular Le Figaro. “The published version [par la DGAC ndlr] is in no way signable for the SNCTA which considers it a provocation if not an insult”, the union said on its website. But the discussions finally ended on the night of April 23 to 24 leading to the lifting strike notice for Thursday, April 25.