Ryanair cancels 300 flights and issues a warning to 50,000 passengers

                            Photo Credit: RYANAIR

Over 300 flights operated by Ryanair have been cancelled, impacting thousands of UK travellers. Fifty thousand travellers who are going to be impacted by last-minute cancellations have received a warning from the airline.

The majority of the impacted passengers are not travelling to or from France, but the decision was made in response to today's air traffic control strikes in France, April 25. The majority of the cancelled planes were scheduled to pass through French airspace on their way to other locations, like Greece, Spain, and Italy from the UK.

Ryanair has demanded that the EU act quickly to maintain open skies throughout Europe, claiming that France has "failed to protect overflights during its national air strikes." Britain's favourite vacation spot, Spain, has issued warnings, and anyone leaving the country on Thursday should anticipate delays.

The French strikes would probably affect Spain the most, according to the Association of Airlines, which also advised travellers to anticipate delays on about half of today's flights.

Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, stated: "We should be cancelling French flights, not flights departing Ireland, Italy, Germany to Spain, or Scandinavia to Portugal. French air traffic controllers are entitled to go on strike, that's their right.

"The European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen has failed for five years to take any action to protect overflights and the single market for air travel. We're pleading with her once more to act to safeguard overflights, which would prevent more than 90% of these aircraft cancellations.

In addition to allowing Europe's other air traffic control systems to oversee flights over France during air traffic control strikes, the airline CEO wants the EU Commission to enact legislation protecting French overflights during such strikes, just as they do in Greece, Italy, and Spain.