Air France passengers could be severely disrupted next month if a strike called by French pilots union SNPL goes ahead.
The union is calling on its members to walk-out for set periods of each day from May 3 to 30, in a dispute over its ‘right to strike’.
The union is calling for strikes two hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon.
Air France said the strikes could “seriously threaten its recovery”, as most of the flights affected will have to be cancelled.
A spokesman for the airline said: “This strike action is unusual both for its significance, lasting nearly a month, as well as for its methods which will penalise Air France flights at two peak times of day.”
The union is calling for industrial action because it's unhappy at a new law that forces pilots to give airlines 48-hours notice of any strike action, giving the companies time to draft in pilots from other airlines or to notify passengers of cancellations.
The union wants the law repealed so that future strikes will have their intended effect of causing maximum disruption.
In a letter to the union, Air France's chief executive Frederic Gagey said the strike "is taking place at a crucial time in Air France's recovery".
After six years of financial losses that led to radical cost-cutting measures including thousands of job cuts, the airline is aiming to generate a positive operating income this year a target it says could be damaged by the strike.
"It seems inconceivable that a strike, the grounds of which in no way concern Air France, can curb this momentum," Gagey said.
AirFrance.com