France strike notice for 5 November: flight risks and rights

FO’s formal notice covers personnel of France’s civil aviation authority DGAC, the ENAC aviation school and the BEA air accident investigation body. Its demands concern pay and compensation for inflation across staff groups. USAC-CGT also calls for participation, with pay, careers and public-service funding among its demands.

The scope of a notice is different from actual participation. Do not assume that every air traffic controller will strike, that all French airports will close or that a particular flight has already been cancelled.

If air traffic control capacity is reduced, flights using the affected services could be delayed, re-routed or cancelled. That could include some journeys over France as well as departures and arrivals. The notices do not establish which routes or airports will actually be affected.

A transport report published by Déplacements Pros on 30 October had not identified an announced operational reduction by DGAC, Paris Aéroport or Air France at that point. That dated report is not a flight forecast for 5 November. Use your airline’s current information for your booking.

Keep checking the airline’s app and the airport’s flight information, especially the day before departure and before leaving home. Keep your booking reference and contact details accessible. Do not cancel a flight that is still scheduled to operate without checking the consequences.

Check ground transport separately. A train disruption or difficulty reaching the airport does not by itself mean the airline has cancelled your flight or owes EU261 compensation. Allow extra time where practical and follow the airline’s instructions.

Not automatically. A strike affecting external air traffic control services may be an extraordinary circumstance. To rely on that defence, the airline must show the connection with the actual disruption and that it took reasonable measures. This differs from a strike about working conditions among an airline’s own staff.

Other causes, notification timing, the re-routing offered and the arrival delay can change the result. At least 14 days’ personal cancellation notice normally excludes fixed compensation. Neither a union notice nor the date of a news report establishes when the airline informed you.

EU261 normally covers flights departing France, regardless of the operating airline. For an arrival from outside the EU, an EU operating carrier and the regulation’s other conditions matter. Not every flight merely passing through French airspace falls within EU261.

If a flight covered by EU261 is cancelled, ask about the choice between reimbursement and re-routing under the applicable conditions. Understand the consequences before choosing a refund: it can affect onward transport and care.

During qualifying waits, the airline may need to provide meals, necessary hotel accommodation and related transfers even if extraordinary circumstances exclude fixed compensation. Ask for assistance first and keep receipts for reasonable necessary expenses if it is not provided. See our guides to cancelled flights and delayed flights.