The boss of Ryanair told Sky News that the president of the European Commission should “leave” if she could not stop the disruptions caused by repeated strikes in air traffic control.
Michael O’Leary, the director general of the group of the largest airline in Europe by the number of passengers, said in an interview with Business Live that Aursula von der Leyen had failed to reach, at the EU level, with interruptions on overflies following several recent disputes in France.
The last action started on Thursday and should end later in the day, forcing thousands of flights to be delayed and canceled thanks to closings from French airspace.
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Mr. O’Leary told the presenter Darren McCaffrey that French interior flights had been a priority during the strikes of ATC and other nations, including Italy and Greece, had solved the problem thanks to minimum service legislation.
He said the vast majority of flights, canceled over two days of action that started on Thursday, could have operated according to similar rules.
Mr. O’Leary said about the role of the EU: “We continue to call on Ursula von der Leyen-Why don’t you protect these overflights, why is the single aerial travel market disturbed by a small number of French air traffic controllers?
Ryanair canceled more than 400 flights over two days due to action in France. File peak: PA
“All we get is an uptop of shoulders and” there is nothing we can do “. We emphasize, there are. ”
He added: “We call Ursula von der Leyen, who preaches on competitiveness and reform of Europe, if you are not willing to protect or repair overflights, then leave and let someone more effective do the work.”
The strike is estimated by the lobbies group of airlines for Europe which led to at least 1,500 flights canceled, leaving 300,000 travelers unable to make their trips.
Michael O’Leary thinks that the EU can take measures for competition reasons. Peak: pa
Ryanair himself has hatched more than 400 flights so far, said O’Leary. The Easyjet rival said Thursday that it had canceled 274 services in the two days.
The start of July marks the start of the European summer holiday season.
The French Civil Aviation Agency DGAC has already told airlines to cancel 40% of flights covering the three main Paris airports Friday before ranging – a dispute on endowment levels and the quality of the equipment.
Mr. O’Leary described these security problems as “absurdities” and said that the controllers had the right to strike, they were not allowed to close the sky.
The DGAC warned against delays and additional disturbances more before the weekend.
Many planes and teams will be out of position.
Mr. O’Leary is not the only one to express his frustration.
The French Minister of Transport Philippe Tabarot denounced the action and the reasons for this.
“The idea is to disturb as many people as possible,” he said in an interview with CNews.
Passengers are informed that if your flight is canceled, the airline must either reimburse you or reserve you on another flight.
If you have reserved a return flight and the outgoing leg is canceled, you can claim the total cost of your airline’s return ticket.