French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called on Air France pilots Wednesday to end a three-day-old strike which has grounded 1,800 flights so far, costing the airline millions of euros.
“This labour dispute must end. I’m asking Air France pilots to stop this dispute and sit down at the [negotiating] table and move forward,” the Socialist premier told France Inter radio.
Valls said it was “regrettable that a single category, the pilots, can bring air transport in the country to a halt.”
The pilots began a week-long strike on Monday to protest the airline’s plans for its low-cost subsidiary, Transavia.
Air France plans to develop Transavia to make up lost ground in the European low-budget travel market, which is dominated by carriers such as Ryanair and EasyJet.
The pilots fear the company’s intention to base Transavia crews around Europe will lead to job losses in France.
Several days of negotiations have failed to end the deadlock.
Around 60 per cent of the carrier’s pilots have walked off the job, forcing Air France to cancel a similar proportion of flights.
An Air France spokeswoman estimated the number of flights cancelled between Monday and Wednesday at 1,800.
The strike, which is to run through September 22, is shaping up as the most disruptive at Air France since 1998.
The airline says the work stoppage is costing it between 10 and 15 million euros (13 and 19 million dollars) a day, excluding reimbursements for stranded passengers. Many passengers took up the option to postpone their flight free of charge.
The strike comes as the Air France-KLM group was just starting to rebound after a few disastrous years, marked by heavy losses.
Last year, the group turned an operating profit for the first time in three years.
Ground staff, who have borne the brunt of recent restructuring plans, expressed frustration with the pilots.
Laurent Berger, leader of the CFDT, which is Air France’s main union for ground staff, accused the pilots of refusing to share in the sacrifices needed to turning around the ailing carrier.
GNA
