Flyers Grounded By French Controllers

As flights to France from anywhere in the world were cancelled on Tuesday, chaos due to industrial action by air-traffic controllers also left thousands of travellers severely delayed on route to or from Spanish resorts.

Hundreds of delayed passengers heading to Belfast International were last night coached to the larger Alicante facility from the Murcia regional airport - as it was closing at midnight - after news that their badly delayed Jet2 flight was too late for turn-around in time.

However, once boarded, the Northern Ireland passengers on the crowded jet were then forced sweat it out - fully loaded - on the Alicante tarmac for a further three hours as French controllers refused to reconsider a fresh flight slot. Their original allocation had been missed due to previous inbound delays.

Take-off was permitted at 4am local time (3am UK) and the flight landed at Belfast International Airport this morning at 6am - some eight hours late.

Commenting to 4ni.co.uk, Steve Lee, Jet2 Commercial Director said: "When industrial action such as this takes place, the actual restrictions aren't known until the next shift of air traffic controllers reports for duty and the manpower available dictates the flow of air traffic that will be permitted.

"When air traffic slots are issued in these situations, they tend to be with very little notice, so the only way of ensuring an aircraft departs as soon as is possible is to board the passengers, send what is known as a 'ready message' to air traffic control and wait patiently for a slot."

Also, flights from John Lennon Airport in Liverpool were cancelled with 10 flights to French and Spanish destinations halted because of the industrial action while other flights suffered delays.

Flights to Malaga, Madrid, Charles de Gaul, Arricefe (Lanzarote), Carcassonne, Alicante, Bergerac, Murcia, and Reus were affected.

In France, multiple unions also went on strike, halting planes, trains, buses, underground stations and schools, over plans to overhaul the state pension.

(BMcC/GK)