Air traffic controllers' strike on July 3 and 4: notice maintained despite attempt at conciliation

UNSA-ICNA, the second largest union representing air traffic controllers, announced on Monday that it had filed a strike notice just before the summer school holidays to protest, in particular, against "toxic management" and "structural understaffing, the result of a flawed recruitment policy."

The DGAC recognizes the difficulties "The DGAC recognizes the difficulties linked to the situation of chronic understaffing , which affect the quality of service provided to airlines. It is precisely to address this that it is defending an ambitious recruitment plan, included in a multi-year strategy, in order to guarantee an efficient and secure service," the administration had argued earlier on Wednesday in a press release. The DGAC said on Wednesday that it wished to "explore solutions to avoid a mobilization with serious consequences for users and air transport stakeholders, both at national and European level."

The DGAC also said it "deeply regrets the choice of these dates (July 3 and 4), which correspond to the busiest days of the year, due to the many departures on vacation during this period." The UNSA-ICNA had denounced "the managerial excesses within the Directorate of Air Navigation Services, whose authoritarian, brutal management style, reneging on its commitments and disconnected from operational realities, maintains a climate of constant pressure and mistrust incompatible with the demands of serenity and safety in the air traffic controller profession."

For the DGAC, the union's demands relate to "controller attendance, pay, and recruitment." A reform is underway to establish a time clock for controllers upon taking up their positions, following a "serious incident" at Bordeaux airport in late 2022, when two planes nearly collided. In a report, the Bureau of Investigation and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) blamed the flawed organization of controllers' work, outside the legal framework and without respect for the duty roster.