Ryanair has said it may be forced to cancel up to 600 flights per day next week as French air traffic controllers stage fresh strike action.
The stoppages, called by France’s largest ATC union, SNCTA, are scheduled for 7–10 October and could disrupt routes across western Europe, particularly flights from the UK to Spain, Italy, Greece and beyond that overfly French airspace.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary repeated his demand for the EU to protect overflights, saying:
“They have the right to strike, but if flights are to be cancelled, they should be flights arriving to and from France. They should not be overflights.”
O’Leary warned that the disruption could affect up to 100,000 passengers daily, calling on European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to act. He suggested Eurocontrol could temporarily manage overflights during strike periods.
The airline has already seen smaller-scale disruption this autumn: about 30 flights were cancelled on Thursday due to industrial action by smaller French unions, and on 18 September, more than 190 Ryanair flights carrying 35,000 passengers were delayed for hours.
Other carriers, including EasyJet and British Airways, have yet to confirm the likely scale of cancellations, but airlines across Europe have voiced concern about growing ATC-related disruption caused by strikes, staff shortages, and technical problems, compounded by the ongoing closure of Russian and Ukrainian airspace.
