How to survive the Air France strike

By Euronews

Published on 16/09/2014 - 15:06

Around 60 percent of Air France flights were cancelled on Tuesday as a week-long strike by the national carrier’s pilots entered its second day.

The walk-out has left tens of thousands of passengers in limbo amid fears the disruption is about to get much worse.

Pilots are striking over plans to double the number of passengers carried by the company’s low-cost airline Transavia. They say Air France routes will be cut and French jobs will be lost as new pilots from other European air hubs are hired at lower salaries.

The company says expanding Transavia will not replace Air France routes but will help it fight against other “budget” competitors. Bosses have ruled out giving pilots in other countries the same contracts as their Air France colleagues though.

Here's how to survive the strike:

- Only 40 percent of flights were operating normally on Tuesday.

- Air France expects that a similar number of flights will operate on Wednesday.

- The company says if the strike lasts past Wednesday, it will review flight schedules.

- If you have reservations for September 15-22, you are advised to postpone your trip or change the ticket at no extra cost.

- Passengers should check the Air France website to ensure that their flight is operating before going to the airport.

Pilots ndustrial dispute on Monday Sept 15: traffic forecast and #AirFrance commercial measures http://t.co/JmiNlsFlY9
— Air France (@airfrance) 13 Septembre 2014

- You can follow Air France’s Social Media pages:

Air France on Twitter

More company announcements will be made here:

Air France Newsroom

The company has been praised for the personal service it has been giving to passengers on Twitter, so its worth following them.

- Air France says it is attempting to keep passengers up-to-date through SMS, email and other messaging services.

- The company hopes to give passengers at least one day’s notice of any disruption to their flight.

- Are you based in France? You can take the train instead. Book at Voyages SNCF

- On a positive note, pilots from German carrier Lufthansa cancelled their eight-hour walkout scheduled for Tuesday. The company is running to a normal timetable.