Thursday Briefing: Strike Cancels Paris Flights, PONANT’s New Ships

air france

From the strike in France to Typhoon Meranti, here are the travel stories to follow this morning. 

Air Travel Strike in France

Airlines flying to and from Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Beauvais airports are cutting 15 percent of their flights today due to an air traffic controller strike, France24 reports. 

Air France said it would continue operating all of its long haul flights, 95 percent of its domestic and medium haul flights at Charles de Gaulle, and 77 percent of its flights at Paris Orly. Ryanair has cancelled 72 of its flights today, and British Airways has also cancelled flights. 

Travelers flying on Air France may postpone their trip to September 17 at no extra cost in the same ticketed cabin. To postpone their trip beyond September 17, change their origin or destination or cancel their flight, travelers can receive a non-refundable voucher valid for one year on Air France, KLM or Hop. Ryanair is offering travelers the chance to apply for a full refund of unused flights through the affected airports, or the ability to change their cancelled flight for free (subject to seat availability). 

The action is part of a wider public sector strike, which is part of a long-running controversy over a new labor law that passed Parliament in July. 

ponant explorers

PONANT Releases Details on New PONANT EXPLORERS

In cruise news, PONANT has released details on four of its upcoming new cruise ships. The PONANT EXPLORERS, set for two to launch in summer 2018 and the remaining two to launch in summer 2019, are new luxury yachts with an Ice Class 1C certification. 

The new ships, named Le Lapérouse, Le Champlain, Le Bougainville and Le Kerguelen, will have 92 cabins and suites with a crew of 110. They will also comply with the International “CLEANSHIP” label, with a number of environmentally-friendly features, including a dynamic positioning system that will allow the ship to avoid dropping anchor and damaging the sea bed; electronic propulsion; 3D sonar; diesel engines that run on less-polluting marine diesel oil; onboard wastewater and sewage treatment systems; and low-energy lightbulbs. 

Typhoon Meranti Hits Taiwan, China

Finally, Typhoon Meranti has made landfall in China after passing over Taiwan, hitting the mainland near Xiamen in Fujian Province, CNN reports. The storm, which is the strongest typhoon since Super Typhoon Haiyan, which caused heavy damage to the Philippines back in 2013, packed winds of up to 230 mph and washed away an 800-year-old Song dynasty wooden bridge in Yongchun county, Fujian. The storm also damaged an inflated moon that had been part of a display to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival

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