Strike to ground quarter of flights at Paris airport

A quarter of flights will be cancelled at the main Paris airport on Thursday as workers stage a strike to demand higher wages, airport operator ADP said, causing more travel chaos in Europe.

The strike comes as several European airports have struggled to handle passenger flows due to staff shortages as the travel industry bounces back from the Covid pandemic.

French aviation authorities asked airlines to reduce the number of flights between 7:00 am and 2:00 pm on Thursday at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, ADP said on Wednesday.

Also read | Challenging operating environment: European airline Easy jet cancelled 5% of its flights

Air France, the hub's main airline, said it scrapped 85 short- and medium-haul flights on Thursday while schedules would change for longer routes.

The airport's unions called on workers to mobilise and demand a 300-euro ($322) salary increase "without conditions for everyone".

"Despite the resumption of air traffic and the profits made, our work is not paid at fair value," the unions said in a joint statement. "Everything is rising, except our wages."

Two years after the pandemic devastated the aviation industry, prompting heavy layoffs, travel is rebounding in Europe as countries have lifted restrictions.

Also read | Post-pandemic rebound in demand leads to aviation chaos in Europe

ADP's president said in April that there were 4,000 open positions at the Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports.

Shortages have disrupted flights in London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt in recent weeks.

"The chaos endured for several weeks by workers in several airports in France and Europe is intolerable," France's FO union said.

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