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An alert from Air France announced that unions representing airline pilots throughout France have unanimously called a four-day strike from Friday, November 14, at one minute past midnight, to Monday, November 17, at midnight. The strike is protesting changes to the retirement age (from 60 to 65) currently under discussion in the French Parliament. As a result of the strike, Air France is expecting very significant disruptions to its operations.
Air France's normal daily flight schedule comprises 760 medium-haul flights from all its stations and 73 long-haul flights from Paris.
The schedule during the strike period is difficult to forecast as it will have to be adjusted each day. As things stand, the approximate estimation for Air France for Friday, November 14, is the cancellation of half its long-haul flights from Paris and the same for medium-haul flights. More cancellations to long-haul flights are expected as the strike progresses. The impact of the strike on the 800 or so flights operated by partner airlines Brit Air, CityJet, Régional, CCM and Airlinair should not be as great. Air France has promised to “do its utmost” to ensure that its passengers are transferred to other airlines, depending on space available.
Passengers who intend to continue with their trip as planned should find out whether their flight is likely to operate by consulting www.airfrance.com, which will be constantly updated with detailed flight cancellation information. Customers can also call the general reservation number, 800-237-2747, for further information.
The flight schedule to be operated each day will be published the evening before at about 2 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). Air France cannot, however, rule out the risk of last-minute cancellations, even up to the time of departure.