THIS time last year, Gulliver made a joke that it must nearly be summer because the French air traffic controllers (ATCs) were on strike. Disruption over Gallic skies is as sure a sign of the changing seasons as a sight of the first returning swallows. Last year the row was over plans to raise the age of retirement from 57 to 59. The year before that their beef was budget cuts. And a year earlier, plans for a single European airspace encouraged controllers out of their towers and onto the streets.
This summer, right on schedule, SNCTA, the largest union which represents French air traffic controllers, has scheduled five strikes over pay and the retirement age. The first is happening today, with more stoppages planned for June. Ryanair says it has had to cancel 70 flights as a result of the action, not just to France but also to countries which have to be reached via French airspace, such as Spain and Switzerland. British Airways has also cancelled 20 flights, though Air France reckons it will be able to run a full service from Charles de Gaulle.
