All six unions representing easyJet’s 1 200 Paris-based cabin crew filed a joint strike notice on 23 July after last-ditch talks with management collapsed, TourMaG reports. Although the unions must give 48 hours’ operational notice before each work stoppage, spokespeople say walkouts could begin “within days” and continue through the August peak if rostering grievances are not addressed. Staff accuse the airline of ‘unlivable’ schedule volatility, citing last-minute duty swaps and uncontracted night flights that disrupt rest periods. They demand a cap of three roster changes per month, new premiums for night sectors and an end to involuntary multi-day “trippings” across Europe. EasyJet says it has already improved pairing stability and cannot meet pay demands without jeopardising its post-pandemic turnaround plan. The labour action could force the low-cost carrier to cancel or re-time hundreds of departures from its French bases at Paris-CDG, Lyon and Nice—routes heavily used by SMEs for intra-EU meetings and by global firms shuttling staff to UK and Mediterranean factories. Under EU261 rules, corporates may face dwindling re-accommodation options as other airlines fly near capacity. Travel managers are advised to hold refundable rail or Air France options and review duty-of-care alerts for mobile workers during the strike window. The move adds to industrial-relations headaches for the French aviation sector, which already faces threatened nationwide action over changes to pension top-ups for air-crew retirees. If multiple strikes converge, the DGAC could order airlines to pre-emptively cut flight schedules at Orly and Marseille, affecting connections well beyond easyJet’s network.
Source: TourMaG
