Easyjet cancels around 100 flights due to cabin strike in France

Due to a strike by cabin crew, the British low-cost airline Easyjet has canceled around 100 flights to and from France for Saturday and Sunday. The airline said the passengers had been informed and could rebook on other flights free of charge. According to the unions, around half of the planned flights from the two Paris airports as well as from Nice, Bordeaux and Lyon are affected.

Easyjet canceled at least 98 flights for the weekend, including 47 on Saturday and 51 on Sunday, William Bourdon from the SNPNC-FO union told the AFP news agency. These primarily include routes within France and flights to holiday regions in Portugal, Italy and North Africa.

According to Bourdon, 68 percent of the approximately 340 flight attendants who were scheduled to work on flights to and from France this weekend wanted to strike. The cabin crew's strike was triggered by dissatisfaction with the repeated changes to rosters.

Desire for “stability”

Bourdon explained that the cabin crew wanted “stability” in their operations. Some crew members would have to expect 50 to 60 changes to their work schedules and flight destinations per week. Private life is “extremely complicated to organize,” Bourdon told the AFP news agency. Most of the changes happened just a day or two beforehand.

The three unions involved in the talks had warned of strikes between August 7th and September 2nd. Easyjet described the strike as “opportunistic” as it falls on a major holiday weekend when airports are busy. The company asked staff to call off the strike on such a busy weekend. Easyjet has made proposals to change working conditions and discussions are planned for September.