Outline:
Major French Aviation Strike Impacts British Travelers
British tourists planning to travel to France should be prepared for the largest aviation strike in years. The strike, organized by the SNCTA union, is scheduled to take place on September 18 and will last for 24 hours. This disruption is expected to affect nearly 200 UK flights, primarily due to government budget cuts and stalled wage negotiations.
The impact of the strike will be widespread, with most of France’s airspace coming to a standstill. Approximately 1,000 to 1,500 flights overall are anticipated to be affected. Several UK airports that serve as gateways to France could experience significant issues, including London’s major hubs, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, and Glasgow.
AirAdvisor, a flight compensation company, estimates that around 36,000 Brits may be impacted by the strike. Paris Charles de Gaulle airport alone sees around 80 to 100 flights from the UK daily, while Nice Côte d’Azur experiences approximately 30 to 40. Marseille Provence airport has 20 to 30 UK flights landing each day, and overall, France receives between 180 to 280 daily flights originating from the UK.
It is expected that around 200 to 400 flights will be diverted to neighboring airports. The strike is likely to increase congestion by 5 to 10 percent over a 24-hour period. Anton Radchenko, Aviation Expert & Founder of AirAdvisor, highlighted concerns about the broader implications of the strike.
Radchenko stated, “What worries me most about this strike is not just the cancellations we’ll see on the day, but the knock-on effects that travellers rarely anticipate. When French controllers walk out, planes and crews are left out of position, and that creates rolling disruption for 24 to 48 hours afterwards. So even if your ticket says September 19 or 20, you should assume a higher risk of delay or cancellation.”
To prepare for the potential chaos, Radchenko offered some advice for British travelers. He suggested, “If you must fly to or over France, consider early morning departures, as they are historically 20-25% less likely to be disrupted because the day’s backlog has not yet built up. Keep a second option ready: hold a refundable or flexible booking via Amsterdam or Frankfurt, or even look at Eurostar for short-haul connections. And document everything: boarding passes, delay notices, and even screenshots of airline apps. Most passengers miss out on care compensation simply because they lack proof of what happened, so ensure you have that.”
Disruption may continue for up to 48 hours after the strike ends, as aircraft and crews become displaced in other countries. Passengers may not be eligible for compensation under EU/UK Regulation 261, as ATC strikes are considered ‘extraordinary circumstances.’