Air France cabin crew plan 7-day strike during peak holiday season

At what can only be described as the worst possible time of the year, Air France cabin crew, which are represented by two unions – SNPNC-FO and UNSA-PNC – have voted to strike for seven days over a new collective agreement. The action will run between July 27 and August 02 inclusive.
Air France has been struggling financially and the calling off of the planned Pilots’ strike at the beginning of the month was seen as a sign that the airline was making progress with staff negotiations. However, this latest action comes through the activation of an indefinite strike notice which was issued on June 3 this year.
Despite allowing for two months of negotiations and the presentation of a proposal containing as many compromises as the carrier could offer, the already extended July 22 deadline came and went without resolution. Air France CEO Frédéric Gagey called the strike action “irresponsible” and that it came at the “worst possible time.”
Air France plans to maintain most of its long-haul network during the strike, though there may be more disruption to short- and medium-haul services. Details are expected to be released for the revised schedule on July 26.
It is understood that flights operated by regional airline HOP!, Dutch sister carrier KLM ,and leisure subsidiary Transavia ,will remain unaffected.
The principal cause for problems remains the same. The unions and staff want solid contracts around work conditions for the next five years, while management is offering contracts over only 17 months. Between 55% and 70% of staff indicated that they will take strike action. It is anticipated that during the seven days the strike will likely impact on up to 1000 flights, and between 130, 000 – 150,000 passengers.
Air France pilots are supporting the strike and have published a number of rules that will need to be observed for safety reasons – in particular it was pointed out that if the crew was not complete, or if there was a significant impact on security measures, flights will not take off.