Air-traffic controllers in France yesterday began a three-day strike to protest against EU plans to create a single European airspace, reports BBC News.
The controllers say the single European sky (SES) project will affect public safety and their working conditions.
Strikes and walk-outs are expected to spread across Europe today (Wednesday).
France’s civil aviation authority has asked airlines to halve the number of flights serving major French cities to deal with the expected disruption.
The European Commission, which drafts EU laws, estimates that inefficiencies in the way Europe’s air traffic is managed add 42 kilometres to the average flight.
It wants to centralise air-traffic controls, rather than leave each member state to monitor its own skies. The commission says this could triple the region’s airspace capacity, cut costs and reduce delays.
Under the plan, the many national air traffic control systems would be merged into nine functional airspace blocks (FABs), with a new European network manager being given authority for route planning.
But France’s main controllers' union, the USAC-CGT, says the plans are “a direct attack on the public service nature of this sector” and a step toward privatisation.
