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Strike leaves irate airline passengers stranded in France

Lines of frustrated, angry passengers built up at main French airports yesterday as Air France canceled scores of flights because of a strike by cabin staff.

Hundreds of people who spent the night at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport confronted the airline's staff who were working. There were major check-in delays at two of the main terminals early yesterday, signaling a tough start to a peak flying weekend as France started mid-term school holidays.

Air France insisted on the third day of the strike that it expected 70 percent of scheduled flights to take off and it planned new talks with unions.

But at Charles de Gaulle's terminal E about 10 of the 40 scheduled flights early yesterday were canceled, including planes to New York and Washington.

Flights from Dubai, Brazzaville and Toronto also fell victim to the strike. Many domestic flights were canceled.

The action began to bite on Friday when scores of flights were cut, including more than half of long-haul flights and some 50 medium-haul services out of the main Paris airport.

In Charles de Gaulle's terminal E, Cui Wansheng from Jiangsu in China said with a tired grin: "I have heard a lot of stories about strikes in France, but never experienced any. Strikes in French airports are famous all around the world."

Unions representing flight attendants launched the strike on Thursday to demand better pay and conditions. It has been followed by more than three quarters of staff, unions say. Management and unions met for four hours on Friday but failed to overcome their differences.

Air France has started legal action against three unions seeking 45 million euros (US$65 million) in compensation for losses. It accused them of having failed to negotiate in the run up to the strike.
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