French air traffic controllers strike for 3rd day, job action to end Saturday

French air traffic controllers strike for 3rd day

PARIS — A strike by French air traffic controllers disrupted flights Thursday on the third day of a walkout that looks set to extend into the weekend.

At Orly airport south of Paris, 50 percent of flights were canceled, while 15 percent were scrapped at Charles de Gaulle airport north of Paris.

The air traffic controllers are upset at a restructuring plan that would jeopardize their status as public servants.

Following a meeting Tuesday night with the French transport minister, the controllers decided to pursue their strike. The walkout is currently scheduled to end at 8 a.m. Saturday.

The talks themselves had gone well, but the written agreement to end the strike did not satisfy the strikers,” said William Fiacre, a delegate of the UNSA union.

A new meeting was scheduled Thursday afternoon.