Thousands of airline passengers will have their travel plans impacted by a French air traffic control strike on Friday. The country's aviation authorities said it was working with the European air travel body Eurocontrol to help airlines avoid the worst of the problems.
However, Ryanair has been forced to ground 420 flights, many scheduled to fly through French airspace, affecting 80,000 passengers. More than 75 services have been cancelled by easyJet, while British Airways has axed 22 routes.
Air France said it would only run 45 per cent of its short-haul flights. The walkout is being staged by the SNCTA air traffic control union in a dispute over wages and recruitment.
