FRENCH AIRPORTS TO CANCEL MORE FLIGHTS AS PROTESTS SPREAD

Fri 24 March 2023:

The French Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGAC) demanded that air carriers decrease the number of flights in some airports across the country on Sunday and Monday due to the strike of air traffic controllers against the pension reform, French media reported, citing a statement by DGAC.

The department called on air carriers to cancel 33% of their flights in Paris airport Orly on Sunday and another 20% on Monday, the BMFTV broadcaster reported.

Airports in Marseille and Lyon would also be affected by the measure as they would have to cancel 20% of the flights, according to the broadcaster.

It is already the third time that the measure has been extended, with numerous airports already forced to cancel some of the flights earlier in the week over mass strikes.

On Thursday, the French energy ministry said that the supply of kerosene to airports in the northern Ile-de-France and Normandy regions was critical because of a strike at an oil refining plant in the Normandy region, with the authorities forcing workers to get back to work to avoid major disruptions of air traffic.

On March 16, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne invoked an article in the country’s constitution to enable the passage of the controversial pension reform without a parliamentary vote, sparking a massive backlash in French society. French President Emmanuel Macron expressed hope that the reform would be implemented by the end of the current year.

The reform provides for an increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64. Since January, people all across France have been taking to the streets to protest against the measure.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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