Striking air traffic controllers bring Europe to standstill

Airports stood empty and thousands of passengers spent yesterday searching for alternative forms of transport when a strike by air traffic controllers wreaked havoc across Europe.

The protest, centred on France, also affected a number of other countries, including Italy, Greece and Hungary and played havoc with short-haul flights, many of which were either cancelled or diverted from French airspace. Almost all French domestic flights were cancelled, as were most European flights to and from France and many flights passing over French territory.

French unions said the stoppage was observed by 100 per cent of their members. Edith Tartry, a spokeswoman for the French air regulator, DGAC, confirmed the strike had been "massively supported".

Air traffic controllers are protesting at EU plans to replace national systems with a "single European sky", which the European Commission says would rationalise airspace, prevent delays and save money for airlines. Unions believe the measure is a prelude to backdoor privatisation, a claim denied by the Commission.

The French unions complain that the EU's single sky proposals – intended to freee more space for commercial flights – is a "drift to ultra- liberalism" and the beginnings of a "market-driven sky" that would reduce safety standards. They are threatening disruption throughout the summer.

British Airways, which relies heavily on French airspace for European connections, cancelled all but four of its 126 French flights, and 38 services to Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. A spokeswoman for the airline said: "It's affecting thousands of people."

Of the 660 flights scheduled at Orly airport, Paris, only 77 operated. At Charles de Gaulle airport, 250 out of 1,500 flights survived, mostly to long-distance destinations. Some flights left early to beat the beginning of the strike at 6.30am, but many passengers complained they were not informed.

French air traffic controllers stopped work for 16 hours, longer than elsewhere. Those flights that did operate were controlled by non-union officials and a small number of union members who had been ordered to work by the French government for safety reasons.

In Italy about 50 Alitalia flights were cancelled. At Frankfurt airport, Europe's second-busiest, 64 flights were cancelled. In Spain 60 Iberia flights to or from France were cancelled, with 57 domestic flights, and in Portugal most airports were at a standstill. Services in Greece and the Netherlands were also hit.

Jürgen Weber, chief executive of the German carrier Lufthansa, said it was "downright absurd" to protest against open European skies and come out in favour of keeping fragmented structures.