PARIS
Dozens of flights were cancelled across France, as air traffic controllers began a six day strike on Tuesday to protest against the government’s planned cuts on air navigation to take place between 2015 and 2019.
One in five flights were cancelled at Paris's main airports - Charles de Gaulle and Orly, but there "had not been huge changes on the flight schedules," according to France's civil aviation body, DGAC.
In a statement, the body said all cancellations had been planned ahead by airlines, and passengers and flights to southern France, Portugal, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Spain leaving from Paris would be less affected by the strike.
The aim of the strike is to protest against planned cuts, which are part of a European Commission plan, aimed at reducing air navigation costs. Strikers, however, say the cuts harm "the necessary performance and modernisation to ensure an efficient air navigation service in France."
Meanwhile, the walk-outs come before a June 30 deadline for France to present its budget plans for the sector over the next five years to Brussels.
www.aa.com.tr/en
