Ryanair chief claims 40,000 passengers hit by cancellations this weekend due to strikes

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has claimed up to 40,000 passengers will be affected by cancellations this bank holiday Monday, as the airline was forced to cancel 220 flights due to French air traffic control strikes.

However, Ryanair was unable to provide a "country-specific" list of the flights affected when contacted by the Irish Examiner.

In a video posted on the airline’s Twitter page, Mr O’Leary hit out at the French authorities and urged intervention from the European Commission and its president Ursula von der Leyen.

It is not yet clear how many Irish flights may be affected by the cancellations. The Ryanair supremo said that affected customers will have been notified by email and work is ongoing to try accommodate them.

The spokesperson for the airline said, "Unfortunately, as we are still working through these, we don't have a country specific list just yet."

The industrial action this Monday is the latest in a series of strikes by French air traffic controllers.

Mr O’Leary said that France is using minimum service legislation to protect local French flights.

“But all of the cancellations are then being disproportionately passed on to English flights, Irish flights, Italian flights Spanish, German flights. This is unfair,” he said.

The airline recently launched a petition calling on action at European level to protect such flights from being cancelled and it said there have been more than 620,000 signatures on the petition.

Mr O’Leary also said that overflights are protected from strikes in the likes of Italy and Greece.

“It is unfair that flights from the UK to Spain or from Italy to Portugal are being cancelled simply because a bunch of French air traffic control units want to go on strike,” he said. “We respect their right to strike. But if they want to strike cancel the French flights, protect the overflights.” Ryanair has been contacted for comment.

The cancellations come as Ireland’s major airports were geared up for a busy May bank holiday weekend.

Cork Airport was geared up for 52,000 passengers this bank holiday weekend, with a new Aer Lingus Regional service to Bristol entering service. The airport has 44 scheduled routes on offer this summer.

In Dublin, just 400,000 passengers were expected across the weekend And Shannon Airport expected 45,000 people travelling through the airport this weekend, a 27% increase on pre-pandemic levels.