More than 200 Ryanair flights will be cancelled on Monday, the airline has announced today.
In a video address on Twitter, Ryanair chief Micheal O'Leary blamed the last moment cancellations on Air Traffic Control strikes in France. As a result, 220 flights will be cancelled on Monday, affecting 40,000 passengers.
Mr O'Leary apologised to the customers and said the EU Commission must require the protection of overflights from France. He added: "We're doing everything we can to re-accommodate you. You would have received email notifications from us and we're doing our best to get you back as quickly as we can despite this unacceptable 51st day of French ATC strikes this year."
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Ryanair has already blamed more than 3,700 flight cancellation this year on strike action. 666,000 passengers in total have been impacted.
The airline chief said: "France is using minimum service legislation to protect its local French flights. But all of the cancellations are then being disproportionately passed on to English flights, Irish flights, Italian flights, Spanish and German flights, this is unfair...
"France must be required by the EU Commission to protect overflights. It is unfair that flights from the UK to Spain or flights from Italy to Portugal are being canceled simply because a bunch of French Air Traffic Controllers want to go on strike."
Mr O'Leary also said that while he respected the workers' right to strike, domestic French flights should be the ones that are cancelled, not international ones.
More than 600,000 people have signed Ryanair's petition calling for the European Commission to stop French strikes impacting overflights. A notice that takes customers to the petition has been on the Ryanair app for several weeks.
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