Paris’s three major airports—Charles-de-Gaulle, Orly and Le Bourget—experienced a day of turbulence on Thursday, 18 June, as ground staff, security agents and retail employees staged a coordinated 24-hour walk-out to protest what unions describe as a “zero-tolerance” security-badge policy. The new policy, introduced by the Préfecture de Police in late 2025, automatically refuses or withdraws an air-side badge if an employee has any past mention of narcotics use in France’s police database (TAJ), regardless of the age or severity of the infraction. Without the badge, workers cannot legally access secure zones and therefore lose their job. The inter-union coalition (CGT-ADP, CFDT, UNSA and Sud-Aérien) rallied several hundred employees in front of the prefect’s offices at Terminal 1 of CDG from 10 a.m., brandishing placards reading “Mon badge, mon boulot.” Airport operator Groupe ADP reported limited but visible disruption: security-queue waiting times averaged 45-50 minutes at the morning peak instead of the usual 20, some duty-free shops remained shuttered, and six departures were delayed more than an hour while replacement ramp teams were found.
For travelers and mobility managers trying to navigate these uncertainties, VisaHQ can smooth at least one part of the journey: paperwork. Through its France portal (https://www.visahq.com/france/), the platform lets users arrange visas, residence permits and other travel documents online, track application status in real time and receive expert guidance—helpful insurance when strikes or last-minute schedule changes threaten to upend carefully planned itineraries.
No flights were cancelled, but airlines Air France and easyJet advised passengers to arrive three hours early. Unions argue that the blanket approach breaches the EU’s proportionality principle embedded in Regulation 2015/1998 on aviation security and that it punishes minor misdemeanours unrelated to air-side risk. They want a joint review panel—including employee representatives—to assess cases individually and the creation of temporary badges while appeals are pending. They also demand the prefect publish anonymised statistics so social partners can monitor rejection rates. For global-mobility managers the dispute is a red flag. CDG handles a third of France’s business-travel traffic and is a critical hub for intra-company transfers under the EU ICT Permit and France’s “Passeport Talent.” Persistent staffing gaps in security or ground handling could lengthen minimum-connection times, trigger schedule changes and inflate travel budgets just as companies ramp up summer assignments. If no compromise is reached, unions say they may strike again in early July—peak holiday season—raising the prospect of wider operational knock-on effects for multinationals that route staff through Paris.
For travelers and mobility managers trying to navigate these uncertainties, VisaHQ can smooth at least one part of the journey: paperwork. Through its France portal (https://www.visahq.com/france/), the platform lets users arrange visas, residence permits and other travel documents online, track application status in real time and receive expert guidance—helpful insurance when strikes or last-minute schedule changes threaten to upend carefully planned itineraries.
No flights were cancelled, but airlines Air France and easyJet advised passengers to arrive three hours early. Unions argue that the blanket approach breaches the EU’s proportionality principle embedded in Regulation 2015/1998 on aviation security and that it punishes minor misdemeanours unrelated to air-side risk. They want a joint review panel—including employee representatives—to assess cases individually and the creation of temporary badges while appeals are pending. They also demand the prefect publish anonymised statistics so social partners can monitor rejection rates. For global-mobility managers the dispute is a red flag. CDG handles a third of France’s business-travel traffic and is a critical hub for intra-company transfers under the EU ICT Permit and France’s “Passeport Talent.” Persistent staffing gaps in security or ground handling could lengthen minimum-connection times, trigger schedule changes and inflate travel budgets just as companies ramp up summer assignments. If no compromise is reached, unions say they may strike again in early July—peak holiday season—raising the prospect of wider operational knock-on effects for multinationals that route staff through Paris.
