Ryanair warns 100,000 passengers will have flights cancelled next week: ‘Needless disruption’

If you’ve got an autumn break planned with Ryanair, be warned: thousands of flights are set to be disrupted due to strike action.

The airline’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, has said 100,000 passengers could see their journeys affected due to industrial action in France.

Workers in the main French air traffic control union, SNCTA, are set to walk out on Tuesday, 7 October, amid disputes over working conditions and pay.

The SNCTA represents around 60% of France’s air traffic controllers, making it the largest ATC union in the country. 

While flights to France will be impacted the most, Ryanair has warned of knock-on disruption to any routes that travel through French airspace, which will include destinations such as Greece, Italy and Spain.

These flights, called ‘overflights’, are also set to be cancelled — something that O’Leary takes particular issue with.

Speaking to Sky’s Money Blog about the looming cancellation of 600 flights, he said: ‘That’s about 100,000 passengers who will have their flights cancelled needlessly next Wednesday and Thursday.

‘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.’

He added that of all Ryanair’s customers, British travellers are always hardest hit.

‘The UK is the country whose flights get cancelled most because of the geographic proximity to France,’ he added.

How will air traffic control flights in France affect British travellers?

When air traffic controllers go on strike, it has a knock-on effect for travellers across the continent.

Anton Radchenko, CEO at AirAdvisor, tells Metro: ‘It doesn’t just affect Paris, it shakes the entire structure of European airspace.

‘We’re seeing this now with British travellers who aren’t even flying to France but are still caught in the fallout because their flight crosses French airspace.

‘And when that space closes or narrows, the backlog spreads quickly to hubs like Heathrow, Gatwick, and Manchester.’

Anton adds that shorter journeys are more likely to be affected.

‘What many travellers underestimate is how vulnerable short-haul schedules are to even minor disruptions,’ he says.

‘Unlike long-haul routes, where airlines often have contingency buffers, short-haul flights operate on tight rotations. One delay in Lyon or Marseille can lead to a ripple effect that cancels a Stansted departure six hours later.’

So, what can you do if you’re flying soon?

‘My top advice is to travel with full situational awareness,’ says Anton.

‘If your itinerary connects through France or overflies its airspace, even to destinations like Italy or Spain, check with your airline daily, not just the night before.

‘Take screenshots of every notification, keep every receipt, and escalate immediately if your flight is cancelled. Under EU261, you’re owed assistance even if you’re not owed financial compensation, but you have to know how to ask.’