'Next time, I'll walk': Anger as French air traffic controllers' strike disrupts flights

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00In Paris, there have been endless lines at airline kiosks.

00:04A quarter of flights were cancelled on Thursday, impacting tens of thousands of passengers.

00:20The hassle shows no signs of abating, as Friday may turn out to be no better.

00:25Cancellations in Paris are expected to hit 40%.

00:28In the south of France, 30% of flights could be affected.

00:32The worst is expected for Nice, with the strike grounding about half of flights.

00:38So far, the government does not plan to cede to the demands of the strikers.

00:43This strike is shocking.

00:48Choosing the day when people leave on vacation to start a strike is taking the French people hostage.

00:53The two unions on strike, representing 33% of the profession, have denounced understaffing and outdated equipment.

01:03Their main gripe, however, is a new check-in system that monitors whether workers are on site.

01:09Previous probes have found that some air traffic controllers had been absent when traffic was low,

01:15even when they were scheduled.

01:16The strike is expected to cost air travel companies several million euros.

01:21Previous probes have found that overtime have been

01:44needed to increase the damage toaa issue to an equal concentrate.

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