More UK Flight Delays As France Strike Bites

Hundreds of British travellers are expected to facing further flight cancellations because of industrial action by French air traffic controllers.

Passengers flying on a number of airlines from Gatwick, Heathrow and Luton to European airports were forced to wait for or reschedule their flights on Sunday and the disruption has now extended to the start of the week.

Gatwick said passengers had experienced delays averaging more than 50 minutes on Sunday, while Luton confirmed that flights to Amsterdam and Nimes had been affected as a result of a "knock-on effect in the network".

A spokesman for easyJet confirmed that 82 flights had been cancelled, including 32 arriving and departing from the UK.

On Monday, the number cancelled was 145, with 40 to or from the UK.

British Airways did not disclose how many flights would be affected by the strikes, but said it was doing "all we can to minimise disruption to customers affected".

A spokeswoman added that larger aircraft were now being used and some flights were being re-routed.

Ryanair has called on the French government and the European Commission to intervene in order to prevent UK passengers being "held to ransom" by "tiny numbers" of French workers.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) said it had cancelled more than 200 flights as a result of the action.

The airline is urging its customers to sign a petition to the European Commission, which it hopes will bring to an end the "repeated blackmail and disruption by ATC unions".

There is also disruption to flights not taking off or landing in France, but using French air space. Some planes are being re-routed.

In France, delays are being reported by at least six airports.

French media is saying that Marseille airport is the worst affected but the other sites experiencing problems include Toulouse, Bordeaux, Orly, Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle and Lyon and Nice (Milan: NICE.MI - news) .

Travellers are advised to contact their airlines to check on the status of their flights.

Air traffic controllers are protesting against a cap on recruitment and lack of investment in the systems used by workers.

The disruption is expected to last until Tuesday.