by Jen Mallia
Last updated: 9:15 AM ET, Mon October 6, 2025
Update: The job action has been cancelled, with the SNCTA union reporting it has "made progress on internal issues" and held "calm discussions with all parties involved." See
French Air Traffic Controller Strike Averted for more.
French air traffic controllers are set to strike from Oct. 7-10, 2025 in a move anticipated to affect thousands of flights; not only inbound and outbound French flights, but those that fly over France as well.
The strike comes amid turmoil in France as people protest austerity cuts to social spending in the country, which has also affected rail travel and public transit.
The air traffic controllers, part of the SNCTA union, are striking over several issues, including demands for pay rises due to inflation, and alleged “mistrust, punitive practices, and brutal managerial methods” within air traffic control governance, according to the International Travel and Health Insurance Journal.
The last industrial action taken by air traffic controllers in France was this past July, and resulted in tens of thousands of passengers being delayed or having flights cancelled.
According to The Independent, the job action is structured so that two days before each day of the strike, controllers declare if they will be available to work two days hence — so on Oct. 5, the controllers will state their intention to work on Oct. 7. Based on the numbers of available workers, the French civil aviation authority (DGAC) will set out what level of air traffic control service can be provided and what proportion of flights each airline must cancel. They make this call in the afternoon, one day before the affected day. So the official word will come out on Oct. 6 for how many flights must be cut on Oct. 7. This is how it will play out for each day of the 72-hour strike.
Airline Response and Air Canada Rebooking Policy
Update: As the
strike has been called off and rebooking no longer required, Air Canada has rescinded the rebooking offer we originally reported below.
Because airlines don’t know to what extent their flights will be affected until the day before, they are often reluctant to preemptively cancel flights. Westjet currently runs a daily flight between Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG). It has not issued an advisory about the coming disruptions as of the time of publishing.
Air Canada also has direct flights to France, flying to Paris (CDG) Lyon (LYS) Nice (NCE) and Toulouse (TLS). In advance of the job action, Air Canada is offering flexible rebooking for tickets bought before Oct. 2, 2025 for travel between Oct. 6, 2025 and Oct. 9, 2025. The rebooking window is Oct. 2, 2025 up to and including Oct.17, 2025.
Air Canada advises that customers are permitted one free change as per the following guidelines up to 2 hours before departure. Rebooking is only permitted on Air Canada Operated or Air Canada Codeshare flights.
| Fare Rules | Policy Within Rebooking Window |
Policy OutsideRebooking Window |
| Change Fee(s) | Waived | Waived |
| ADCL | Waived | Fare rules apply |
| Change of Origin/Destination | Passengers may choose to travel to an alternate Air Canada destination, change fee waived but ADCOL applies. |
| Endorsement | For Call Centres and Travel Agencies, use ACAFRCOCT25 when processing a ticket exchange for GDS issued tickets. Endorsement is not required for NDC, AC Connex and ADO issued tickets. |
| Refunds | As per fare rules. |
| Aeroplan Tickets | Please refer the customer to Aeroplan for handling (refer to Aeroplan - Contacts for the Aeroplan Schedule Change phone number). |
| Additional Details | For any itinerary with a flight cancellation, please follow the procedures outlined in the Schedule Change or Flight Disruption Policy. |
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