Travellers by air and rail are about to face weeks of strike disruption as well as further delays at HM Passport Office.
Thousands of travellers hoping to return to the UK on Monday 1 May, the last day of the bank holiday weekend, are being told their flights are cancelled.
May Day has been chosen for the latest general strike in France in protest against Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms. French air-traffic controllers are joining the walkout, with airlines being ordered to ground hundreds of flights.
Ryanair alone has cancelled 220 departures, and says 40,000 passengers have had their travel plans wrecked. The cancelled services include flights to and from London Stansted, Bristol, Manchester and Edinburgh, as well as those serving destinations in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France itself.
The Irish airline has collected hundreds of thousands of signatures for an online petition asking the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to protect so-called “overflights” – that is, flights that both take off and land in countries other than France, but need to cross French airspace – when air-traffic controllers walk out.
The chief executive of the Ryanair Group, Michael O’Leary, said in a video message: “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 cancelled simply because a bunch of French air-traffic control unions want to go on strike.
“We respect their right to strike. But if they want to strike, cancel the French flights, protect the overflights.”
Budget rival easyJet has grounded dozens of flights, including links from London Gatwick, Luton, Bristol and Manchester to destinations in France.
British Airways has cancelled at least 40 flights to and from London, including services to and from Italy, Switzerland and Spain as well as France.
Passengers whose flights are axed are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible, including on a rival airline if necessary, and provided with meals and accommodation until they are able to travel. But they are not due cash compensation.
Anyone who reaches France is likely to find onward transport, particular on the railways and the Paris Metro, severely disrupted.
Cancellations are likely to continue into Tuesday.
In the UK, the strike by…
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