Five French cabin-crew unions (SNPL, UNSA PNC, SNPNC, SNGAF and UNAC) have served notice of a five-day strike from 17 to 21 October 2026—coinciding exactly with the start of the French school half-term (Toussaint) holidays. The walk-out targets airlines operating under French labour law, notably Air France and its low-cost subsidiary Transavia, which together carried 1.7 million passengers on France-Morocco routes this year. At the heart of the dispute lies the government’s plan to overhaul the pilots’ and cabin crews’ supplementary pension fund (CRPN) on 1 January 2027. Unions argue the reform would penalise crew who are forced to retire early for medical reasons and are demanding a legal guarantee exempting them from the new cumulative work-and-retirement rules. Negotiations stalled on 18 September, triggering the pre-Christmas industrial action. For mobility and travel managers, the timing could hardly be worse. Toussaint week traditionally sees a surge in VFR (visiting-friends-and-relatives) and corporate traffic to Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech as Franco-Moroccan executives combine business with family visits. Companies with project teams in Morocco are scrambling to re-route staff on Iberia or Royal Air Maroc services via Madrid and Lisbon, while some are shifting meetings online. Under EU Regulation 261/2004, affected passengers are entitled to rerouting or reimbursement, but hotel and downstream costs may not be covered. Advisers recommend that employees book flexible fares, verify travel-insurance coverage for strike-related disruptions and download airline apps for push-alert rebooking. If the dispute is not resolved, analysts foresee capacity reductions of up to 30 % on Paris-Orly–Casablanca alone. The French Civil Aviation Directorate (DGAC) could impose minimum-service requirements, but experience suggests cancellations will cluster on leisure-heavy flights, leaving business-class seats at a premium. Employers should finalise contingency plans now and brief travellers on their rights and obligations under the company’s duty-of-care policy.
Source: Bladi.net
