Air France pilots set to strike

Air passengers travelling to France could be hit by a strike threatened by pilots at Air France.

Air France pilots today announced plans for a four day strike this week to push for higher salaries, threatening to tie up air traffic during a holiday weekend.

Brigitte Barrand, an Air France spokeswoman, said it was unclear how many flights might be affected or how many pilots planned to take part in the strike from May 2 to May 5.

Wednesday marks the May Day a holiday in France, and many people are expected to take the following two days off work to travel.

Talks were under way today between airline management and three unions representing the pilots in a bid to resolve the dispute, Barrand said.

The pilots’ unions want a 1.5% across-the-board salary increase and the establishment of a regular timetable for talks about pay.

In a joint statement, the pilots unions said the strike was planned in response to ‘‘the intransigence management toward some of our demands.’’