Strike action forces Ryanair to cancel Edinburgh flights

Ryanair cancelled flights from Edinburgh Airport after strike action by air traffic controllers

Ryanair was forced to cancel 13 flights to or from Edinburgh and Prestwick to locations in France, Spain and Portugal following strike action by French air traffic controllers.

The industrial action meant hundreds of Scots were left stranded after flights were halted on Tuesday.

The budget airline urged its customers to sign an online petition to stop “unwarranted” industrial action taking place.

A Ryanair statement said: “Due to an unjustified French ATC strike, we have been forced to cancel a number of flights on Tuesday.

“All affected customers have been contacted by email and text message and advised of their options.

“Ryanair sincerely apologises for an inconvenience caused by these unjustified ATC disruptions which are entirely outside of our control.

“We urge all of our customers to sign the Airlines for Europe petition, ‘Keep Europe’s Skies open’, which will be presented to the European Commission when a million signatures are accrued, in an effort to force the EU to finally take action to prevent these unwarranted strikes and continued disruption to millions of customers.”

Ryanair has been forced to cancel more flights

Passengers at Palma Airport in Mallorca were forced to sleep in the floor after their flights were cancelled. Ryanair axed flights to and from Edinburgh and Prestwick to Bordeaux in France, Alicante, Barcelona, Malaga and Palma in Spain and Faro and Porto in Portugal.

Nine French public sector unions called for nationwide industrial action on Tuesday in protest at what they say is a deterioration in working conditions. The unions are angry at a plan to tighten rules for sick leave, freeze salaries and reduce the number of public sector employees.

Last month, Ryanair announced the cancellation of thousands of flights affecting 400,000 passengers due to pilot availability.