Air travellers stranded in France

It is a terrible time to be taking a flight in France.

Pilots have gone on strike for four days in a protest against the raising of their retirement age from 60 to 65.

Air France and some other smaller companies have been forced to cancel hundreds of flights.

Many passengers are being kept in the dark until the very last minute.

One man at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport said:
“The flight was scheduled and confirmed, up until 15 minutes ago, but now it’s been cancelled. We’re waiting for the next flight now.”

With the strike due to last until midnight Monday, there is a warning of a chaotic weekend ahead.

Another traveller said: “We’ve got to take a train home, rent a car to drive 800 kilometres to go to Pau. That’s where we’re at at the moment.”

One man pleaded with an Air France worker to return his checked-in luggage: “I don’t want to take the 11 o’clock flight to Nice. I had a meeting at 9 o’clock and now it’s too late . I want to go home but I can’t get my luggage.”

Air France has promised to reimburse passengers whose flights are cancelled or delayed, and people are also being given the chance to change their travel dates.

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