IAG chief executive Willie Walsh (pictured) wants air traffic control (ATC) unions to give 21 days notice to airlines before they strike to minimise the impact action has on businesses and consumers.
The head of British Airways' parent company also called for Air Navigation Service Providers to bear the costs of strikes and said it was "grossly unfair" airlines had to pick up the bill for continued industrial action.
Walsh was speaking at a summit held in Brussels by aviation lobby group Airlines4Europe (A4E). It was founded by Europe's five largest airline groups - Air France KLM, Easyjet, IAG, Lufthansa and Easyjet - to represent the interests of its members towards the EU institutions.
He was responding to research carried out by PwC on behalf of A4E that showed between 2010 and 2015 ATC strikes had reduced EU GDP by €9.5 billion, and if not tackled the costs of further strikes over the next five years will be of similar magnitude to the entire GDP of Malta.
"I am genuinely shocked especially as the figure of €9.5 billion is a relatively conservative one," said Walsh. "No one is damaging people's right to strike but steps should be taken to avoid continued action and those involved must see it is unacceptable.
"If Europe wants to grow and be competitive it must mitigate the impact. Recognise people's rights but balance them with people's rights who have flights cancelled," he added.
Asked what action he wants to see taken, Walsh said: "There should be 21 days notice given to airlines when a group is going to strike. Give us time to communicate with passengers and help us reduce the impact on consumers."
Also speaking on the panel with Walsh was director general of the European Commission for transport, Henrik Hololei. He urged governments to understand the "magnitude of the problem".
"If you look at the three-day strike by French ATCs in June that alone caused 1,200 flight cancellations, 300 re-routed flights at a cost of more than €100million. The issue has significant impact on people's lives, on business and it's obviously an issue we have to look at very seriously as it has been with us for some time."
The PwC study also showed that between 2010 and 2015 there were 167 ATC strike days in the EU - one disrupted day every 13 days. Across the EU, ATC strikes occur the most frequently in France, followed by Greece, Italy and Portugal and resulted in 30,000 cancellations and more than six million minutes of delays among A4E airlines.
A4E managing director Thomas Reynaert said: “The European aviation sector - with 900 million passengers each year – is one of the best performing parts of the European economy. Any disruption has severe knock-on effects on tourism and other sectors.
“ We cannot let this destruction of productivity continue. These latest figures should provide a wake-up call for politicians in Brussels and the member states to work together with stakeholders on long-term solutions to protect individual mobility and European prosperity.”
Sign up to BBT’s twice-weekly newsletter