Flights delayed and cancelled as French air traffic controllers start 3-day strike

Industrial action being taken by French air traffic controllers is already having a knock-on effect in the UK as flights out of British airports were cancelled on Sunday. The strike is planned for the next three days and is taking place against a cap on recruitment and lack of investment in systems used by air traffic controllers.

EasyJet said that 82 of its flights on Sunday had been cancelled, 32 of which had been scheduled to take off from UK airports. Not only flights heading into France are being affected but other that were to fly through French airspace are being rerouted too.

Passengers flying to French airports are being told to expect delays and cancellations for the duration of the strike.

An EasyJet spokesperson said: "We have been pro-actively informing affected customers, so they have the opportunity to reorganise their journeys," they added that customers would be able to book a new flight, free of charge, or claim a refund.

"We recommend that all customers travelling on Sunday, 20 March, and Monday, 21 March 2016, check the status of their flight on our Flight Tracker page.

"Although this is outside of our control we would like to apologise to all our customers for any inconvenience and would like to reassure them we are doing all possible to minimise any disruption as a result of the industrial action."

Other airlines flying out of the UK have reported similar disruptions while delays are reported at airports across France.