ATC strike to hit Muscat-Paris flights

By Vinod Nair — MUSCAT: March 6 - Flights on the Paris-Muscat sector could be affected with minor delays due to strike called by French air traffic controllers (ATC). A strike by French air traffic controllers began on Monday and will continue until Friday evening. Flights to other holiday destinations in Europe could also be hit. Oman Air in a statement on Monday said, “Due to possible strike by French air traffic controllers between March 6 and 10, Oman Air flights to and from Paris could experience minor delays. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as necessary.”

France’s civil aviation authority, meanwhile, had recommended that airlines reduce their flights to the country’s southern and western regions because of the strike. The authority in a statement said that the strike would affect 25 per cent of flights to the south and 33 per cent of flights to the west. The strike is expected to affect flyover routes as well as direct flights to those regions, the statement said. The strike was called by the third-largest union of air-traffic controllers in France is scheduled until Friday in the western cities of Brest and Bordeaux, and for next Tuesday to Thursday in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence.