Ryanair delivers petition to EU to defend overflights: French air traffic controller strikes in crosshairs
Company calls for all EU states to protect overflights during air traffic controller strikes
Ryanair
Ryanair, Low-cost company increasingly on the "conquest of the beautiful country, delivered the petition "Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open" To the office of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, after having Collected more than 1.1 million signatures from passengers calling on the EU Commission to protect European citizens' freedom of movement and overflights during French air traffic controllers' strikes.
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In the first 5 months of 2023, there were 57 days of strikes by French air traffic controllers (10 times more than in 2022) who have forced airlines to cancel disproportionately thousands of EU overflights from Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK and Ireland, while France uses minimum service legislation to protect domestic/short-haul flights by disproportionately canceling overflights. France (and all other EU states) should copy the example of Spain, Italy, and Greece, which all use minimum service laws to protect overflights during air traffic controller strikes. If this will result in more canceled domestic flights, let it happen, but overflights over France should be protected during French air traffic controllers' strikes.
Michael O'Leary of Ryanair stated: "Today, just 10 weeks since we launched our 'Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open' petition, we have collected more than 1.1 million signatures from European citizens calling on the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen to protect overflights during repeated air traffic controller strikes. It is unacceptable that air traffic controllers' strikes can result in the cancellation of thousands of EU passenger flights, while France and other EU member states use minimum service laws to protect their domestic flights. European passengers are tired of having to suffer unnecessary cancellations of overflights during air traffic controllers' strikes. The European Commission must now follow up on the petition signed by more than 1.1 million EU citizens and insist that all states protect overflights during national ATC strikes, as has already been done in Greece, Italy and Spain."
Ryanair asks the EU Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen., based on the petition signed by more than 1.1 million EU passengers, That all EU states protect overflights during air traffic controller strikes. as Greece, Italy and Spain have already done. We call on the European Commission, under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen, to:
- Respect the right of air traffic controllers' unions to strike, but
- Protect the 100% of overflights (as in Greece, Italy and Spain) during air traffic controller strikes
national - If ATC strikes require cancellations, let them be assigned to domestic/short-haul flights to/from the
State concerned - Enforce binding arbitration for air traffic controller disputes before strike
- Require 21 days' notice of strike action
- Require 72 hours' notice of employee participation in air traffic controller strikes to
Minimize passenger inconvenience
