Ryanair has revealed that French ATC strikes on next Wednesday and Thursday 17-18 September 2025 could cause the airline to cancel of 700 overflights, affecting 125,000 passengers.
The airline called on EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to protect overflights, a Single Market Competence, during national strikes. The airline says no reforms have been implemented since the Draghi Report, published in September 2024, addressed the multi-billion-euro cost of ATC inefficiencies.
Ryanair proposes two reforms: ensuring ATC staffing for morning flights and protecting overflights during strikes. Michael O’Leary criticised von der Leyen’s inaction, urging Eurocontrol to manage overflights to prevent disruptions.
Michael O’Leary shared: “As usual, Ursula von der Leyen has done nothing over the last 12 months on the Draghi Report or ATC reform. Europe’s airlines are agreed on 2 simple and effective reforms, namely (1) ensuring that national ATC providers are fully staffed for the first daily wave of departures and (2) protecting overflights during national ATC strikes. President von der Leyen, who talks a lot about efficiency and competitiveness has repeatedly failed to do anything about it. It is not too late for her to stop talking and start doing. She needs now to authorise Eurocontrol to oversee all overflights over France on 17 and 18 of Sept next, so that thousands of European flights and millions of European passengers do not have their flights delayed or cancelled, because a small number of French Air Traffic Controllers wish to go on strike. The French can go on strike, but Europe must protect overflights, which are a Single Market Competence and not a “National Competence” as Ursula von der Leyen repeatedly claims.
Over the last five years, President von der Leyen has proven to be useless in promoting competitiveness or efficiency in Europe. Under her leadership European consumers suffer the highest enviro costs (while we exempt non-European airlines from their fair share of Enviro Taxes), the most burdensome regulation and the world’s least efficient ATC services. Thus far she has been useless at delivering ATC reform, and we call on her again today: Protect overflights next week or resign! If you are not willing to protect the Single Market, then return to Germany, to allow somebody competent to deliver efficiency and competitiveness and protect the Single Market for air travel.
Related posts:
Shannon no longer in running for new Ryanair €400m engine repair facility and Derry ‘ranks low’
Cancellation at Dublin airport today
Sceptred skies: The ‘who’s who’ of the saints whose names feature in the Aer Lingus fleet
Ryanair to increase rewards for gate staff who detect outsize baggage from €1.50 to €2.50 in November
