But on Friday, the situation risks being even more severe with the DGAC asking companies to cancel 40 per cent of flights to deal with the strike.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou described the strike as “shocking”.
“Choosing the day when everyone goes on holiday to go on strike at air traffic control is taking the French hostage,” he told BFMTV.
“UNACCEPTABLE”
The effects of the strike are not limited to France, and the stoppage has triggered hundreds of cancellations of flights that fly over the country.
The European Airlines for Europe (A4E) association said 1,500 flights would be cancelled on Thursday and Friday in Europe, affecting 300,000 passengers.
“French air traffic control already delivers some of Europe’s worst delay figures, and now the actions of a minority of French air traffic control workers will needlessly disrupt the holiday plans of thousands of people in France and across Europe,” said A4E chief Ourania Georgoutsakou.
The association said the strikes also caused “almost 500,000 minutes” in delays in Europe on Thursday on nearly 33,000 commercial flights.