French Air Strike Hits Flights
- 15 years ago
Passengers at one of Paris's major airports wait for news about their flights.
An air traffic controllers strike has forced the cancellation of almost half of scheduled flights from Orly airport.
The unions took action after hearing of cutback plans.
[Norbert Bolis, CGT Aviation Trades Union]:
"We went on a strike today because we were told there would be job cuts and (the staff) feel they won't be able to carry out their job properly. We were also told we would be merged with air traffic control systems of neighboring countries - Germany, Holland, Luxembourg and Switzerland - into a European agency that would imperil the status of French employees and the public service."
On the ground, tempers are fraying.
[Bruno Hamias, Passenger]:
"I asked this young lady if I could talk to the manager and she told me: 'No, don't even think about it'. This is not acceptable; passengers are treated like dirt. We asked for some food but they refused to give it to us. This is not acceptable."
The strike is expected to last five days.
An air traffic controllers strike has forced the cancellation of almost half of scheduled flights from Orly airport.
The unions took action after hearing of cutback plans.
[Norbert Bolis, CGT Aviation Trades Union]:
"We went on a strike today because we were told there would be job cuts and (the staff) feel they won't be able to carry out their job properly. We were also told we would be merged with air traffic control systems of neighboring countries - Germany, Holland, Luxembourg and Switzerland - into a European agency that would imperil the status of French employees and the public service."
On the ground, tempers are fraying.
[Bruno Hamias, Passenger]:
"I asked this young lady if I could talk to the manager and she told me: 'No, don't even think about it'. This is not acceptable; passengers are treated like dirt. We asked for some food but they refused to give it to us. This is not acceptable."
The strike is expected to last five days.