French air traffic control (ATC) strikes are set to hit flyers hard again over three days from 7 October to 10 October 2025. The industrial action is expected to result in thousands of cancelled flights with tens of thousands of travellers facing disrupted journeys.
Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, warned in September that an ATC walkout for that month, which was in the end postponed due to the collapse of the French government, would see 700 flights cancelled and 125,000 passengers affected. October’s strike is anticipated to cause similar challenges, if not worse.
Part of the issue is that ATC workers are not obliged to let their employer know whether or not they will be taking part in the action until just two days before the date in question, leaving authorities one day to make a decision on which services to cancel. The same applies to each day of the 72-hour walkout, creating mass uncertainty.
A July strike by two small unions meant 3,000 flights were cancelled and up to 50,000 passengers were affected. Europe’s air traffic management body, Eurocontrol, estimated the cost to the sector at €120 million. As the October strike is being called by the main French ATC union, SNCTA, its impact is likely to be worse.
It is not only flyers on services to and from France that must prepare for disruption. French airspace, which extends over the Atlantic, is key to European aviation, used by a majority of routes between northern and southern Europe. In fact, the two hardest hit airports in July’s strike were Spain’s Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona. What’s more, when flights are cancelled or delayed, there is a knock-on effect on scheduling, with aircraft and ground crew left in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ryanair has in the past issued excoriating attacks on European legislators and regulators, complaining about the impact of such strikes on the sector. This time is no exception. Chief executive Michael O’Leary, whose nickname for the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is “President von Derlayed-Again”, has called for her resignation, saying “she should step aside and let someone competent do the job.”
A message from Michael O’Leary…
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) October 1, 2025
Ursula von “Derlayed-Again” must protect overflights during French ATC strikes, or QUIT!!! pic.twitter.com/mXVmPjSXCw
Complaining that the upcoming strikes would cost his airline around €23 million, O’Leary explained to Sky’s Money Blog that “On any given day at the moment, we operate about 3,500 flights and about 900 of those flights cross over French airspace and about two thirds of those, around 600 flights, are cancelled every day there’s an air traffic control strike.” O’Leary has repeated his calls for “reform and competitiveness” dismissing “useless politicians promising reform but doing nothing. Passengers flying from London to Rome or Brussels to Madrid shouldn’t be held hostage every time there’s a national ATC strike.”
Passengers whose flights are cancelled due to strikes have the right to alternative transport to their destination provided by airlines, as well as overnight accommodation, and, for shorter waits, refreshments. They should be contacted directly by their provider with details of their options.
