easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair issue warning as flights cancelled and Foreign Office changes guidance

A warning has been issued to holidaymakers as their flight could be hit with disruption.

The Foreign Office has changed guidance today as it explained flights over French airspace could be affected by strike action. It said: "It is being reported that on Thursday 25 April 2024, flights across France will be disrupted, with many cancelled, following a call for strike action by air traffic control unions.

"Check your operator’s advice before travelling, including where you are taking connecting flights." Ryanair said the strike action has forced the airline to cancel over 300 flights as 50,000 passengers have been impacted.

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Ryanair's CEO has demanded on the EU Commission to take action to protect overflights. Michael O'Leary said: "French air traffic controllers are free to go on strike, that’s their right, but we should be cancelling French flights, not flights leaving Ireland, going to Italy, or flights from Germany to Spain or Scandinavia to Portugal."

easyJet and Jet2 have also warned travellers they could face significant disruption today. A statement from easyJet said: "We have been advised of a national air traffic control strike affecting flights flying in and out of France, as well as flights over French airspace on 25th April 2024.

We expect significant disruption across our network and advise customers to check the status of their flight on our flight tracker on our mobile app or website: www.easyjet.com/en/flight-tracker. To provide additional support, our UK customer services lines will be extended until midnight on Wednesday 24th April and Thursday 25th April.

"Although this situation is outside of our control, we would like to reassure customers that we are doing all we can to minimise any disruption to our flights that may occur because of the strike action. easyJet has been calling for better protection of passengers during times of French ATC strike action, especially for the hundreds of thousands of customers using the French airspace but whose flights neither depart nor land in France"

Jet2 also warned of potential disruption as a statement said: "We wanted to let you know about potential strike action, supported by French Air Traffic Control on the 25th April 2024 to the 26th April 2024, which may cause delays to flights travelling through French airspace.

Rest assured, we'll try to keep any disruption to a minimum. Check-in will close 40 minutes before your scheduled departure so please arrive at the airport at least two hours before departure. As this strike is not confirmed at present, we will continue to monitor the situation and release further information as soon as possible.

"Please make sure your contact details are up to date in Manage My Booking, and if the situation changes, our team will be in touch."

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