Ryanair has today (Tuesday, 8 July) written an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling on her to resign if she does not take immediate action to protect flights over France during strikes by French air traffic controllers (ATC).
Ryanair says that last week’s annual “summer” strikes by French ATC officers caused the cancellation of 1,500 flights and affected the travel plans of more than 270,000 Europeans. According to the company, 90% of these cancellations could have been avoided if flights over France had been protected.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has called on the European Commission President to either act immediately to protect the single European aviation market or resign, accusing her of “unacceptable inaction” and “failure in her fundamental duty”.
“It is unacceptable that Ursula von der Leyen stands by while the single market for air transport is shut down again and again by strikes by French air traffic controllers”, O’Leary said. “We do not allow strikes to close rail networks, motorways, or sea routes. So why should this be allowed in aviation?”
Ryanair recalls that von der Leyen herself had stated, during the Brexit negotiations, that “protecting the single market is the most important task of her Presidency”. The company is demanding legislative measures to ensure that flights over France are not affected by national ATC strikes, as is already the case in other European countries.
The conflict brings to the fore a long-standing problem for European air transport, with Ryanair having long led a lobbying campaign for reform of the European air traffic sector.
