Air traffic controllers in France have called off a three-day strike that had threatened to leave as many as 100,000 passengers across Europe stranded due to delays and cancellations.
The strike had been due to take place between October 7 and October 9, but on Saturday, the SNCTA union said it had reached an agreement with management on pay raises and improved working conditions.
The union also cited a decision by the new French Prime Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, to subject a controversial austerity budget to a parliamentary vote as a reason for lifting the strike threat.
The strike was originally meant to take place in September, but was pushed back to October as talks with the management started to show some signs of progress.
The walkout had threatened to cause mass disruption because it would have not only hit flights to and from France but also any flight that would normally fly through French airspace.
In September, a smaller air traffic controller union in France staged a strike that caused widespread disruption. Low-cost behemoth Ryanair said that 70% of its flights that were delayed as a result of this strike were so-called ‘overflights’ and were not flying to or from France.
The airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, has been a long-time critic of European Union President Ursula von der Leyen, claiming she should take action to protect overflights in the event of a national air traffic control strike.
According to Ryanair, France is responsible for the most air traffic control-related flight delays in Europe. So far in 2025, the airline estimates that 10.2 million of its passengers have faced delays due to French air traffic control shortages.
Spain was the second-worst country for air traffic control delays, according to Ryanair, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, and Greece.
