Ryanair has called on the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to adopt urgent measures to reform air traffic control services in the EU. The request comes as the airline has been forced to cancel one hundred seventy flights due to a strike by French air traffic controllers, affecting over thirty thousand passengers. The timing of these cancellations coincides with the beginning of the summer holidays, a busy travel period for many across Europe.

The airline points out that the current strike not only affects flights arriving in and departing from France but also impacts flights merely passing through French airspace. Ryanair argues that French air traffic controllers are failing to protect overflights during national strikes, directly disrupting travel plans of passengers not flying to or from France.

Ryanair claims that these incidents are becoming a repeated issue, and their CEO Michael O’Leary emphasised the injustice faced by families planning holidays. He stated it is unacceptable for flights to be delayed or cancelled simply because of these strikes, urging passengers to demand reform.

Ryanair is advocating for two specific reforms: ensuring sufficient staffing for daily flight departures and protecting overflights during national strikes. They believe these changes could eliminate up to ninety percent of delays and cancellations, protecting EU passengers from unnecessary disruptions caused by French air traffic control strikes.