EasyJet France pilots lift 1–2 October strike notice after late-night deal

Corporate travel planners received a welcome reprieve on Saturday morning, 26 September, when the National Union of Airline Pilots (SNPL) announced it was withdrawing a 48-hour strike notice that threatened to ground easyJet France services on 1–2 October. The agreement, reached after marathon talks ending at 02:15, offers pilots more predictable rosters and a roadmap to review fatigue-mitigation rules. EasyJet carried 5.8 million passengers on French routes last year; a two-day walk-out would have cancelled an estimated 620 flights, many on business-critical domestic shuttles such as Toulouse–Paris Orly. While the vote to ratify the deal is still pending, the SNPL said it acted “in responsibility” to spare travellers during the Pope’s visit and the 29 September inter-professionnel strike. Travel buyers who had already rebooked staff on Air France’s higher-fare buckets can now request waivers to return to original low-cost itineraries, but must do so before midnight Monday. EasyJet will absorb GDS change fees; ancillary services such as Speedy Boarding remain transferred unless actively reversed. Labour analysts point out that the easing of tensions does not extend to cabin crew, whose own union (UNAC) could file fresh strike notices for the October school-holiday peak. Mobility programmes should therefore retain contingency budgets.