Several Ryanair flights through Cork Airport cancelled due to strike

Several Ryanair flights to and from Cork Airport today have been cancelled, due to an all-out one day strike by French air traffic controllers that is disrupting 80,000 Ryanair passengers.

Ryanair has been forced to cancel a total of 420 flights today, mainly overflying France, as a result of a strike by French Air Traffic Control (ATC).

Three flights from Cork Airport have so far been cancelled, including an early morning 8:40am flight to Malaga, and two flights later today to Carcassonne at 14:40 and to Reus Salou at 16:40.

Two flights that were due to arrive into Cork Airport later this evening have also been cancelled, the Carcassonne flight that was due to arrive in at 19:15, and a flight from Reus Salou scheduled to arrive in Cork at 21:45.

There were also delays to outgoing and incoming flights to Paris this morning, and further delays to flights scheduled between Faro and Palma in the afternoon.

Ryanair Ops Director, Neal McMahon said that the strike is “inexplicable”.

“Ryanair is once again calling for immediate EU action to prevent these ATC strikes disrupting the travel plans of thousands of European citizens/visitors,” he said.

“It is inexcusable that passengers who are not even flying to/from France are disrupted because they overfly French Airspace at a time when French laws protect French domestic flights. It is time that the EU step in and protect overflights so that European passengers are not repeatedly held to ransom by a tiny French ATC union,” he added.

Ryanair has called for French overflights to be protected by minimum service laws, and for Europe’s other ATC’s to be able to manage overflights over France while French ATC unions strike.

Ryanair has also proposed that French ATC be required to engage in binding arbitration instead of strikes.

All 80,000 affected Ryanair customers have been notified this morning and advised of their options via email/SMS.

Ryanair has “sincerely” apologised to customers for the disruptions caused by the strike.