Around 100 EasyJet flights out of French airports were cancelled over the weekend of 15th and 16th August as cabin crew walked out over what they describe as chronic instability in their working schedules, with Nice Côte d’Azur among the bases hit and further disruption possible until early September.

The two-day stoppage struck one of the busiest travel weekends of the summer, coinciding with the 15th August national holiday. Unions said around half of the airline’s roughly 900 France-based cabin crew were expected to join the action, affecting about half of the flights out of the two Paris airports as well as Nice, Bordeaux and Lyon.

Nice among the six bases affected

The walkout covered EasyJet’s six French bases: Paris Charles de Gaulle, Paris Orly, Nice, Lyon, Bordeaux and Nantes.

The airline said it had cancelled many flights in advance to allow passengers to rebook on alternative services and limit last-minute disruption, and that affected customers would be offered a refund or a free transfer to another flight.

Rosters at the heart of the dispute

The three unions behind the action — SNPNC-FO, UNAC-CFE-CGC and UNPNC-CFDT — say cabin crew face constant last-minute changes to their rosters, demanding rotations and inadequate protections.

“For anything to do with personal life or childcare, it makes things extremely complicated to organise because most of the changes come at the last moment — 24-48 hours before,” said William Bourdon of the SNPNC-FO union, who added that some crew could see their hours and destinations changed 50 to 60 times a week. “It is a permanent musical chairs,” he said.

Bourdon explained that when EasyJet lacks staff at one airport, crew are called in from another base, which must then fill its own gaps, driving repeated changes across the network.

Airline calls the timing ‘opportunistic’

EasyJet’s management described the action as opportunistic, noting that it fell on a major national holiday weekend when airports were at their busiest. The airline said it had made offers to improve staff conditions and that further talks were scheduled for September, and it urged the unions to call off the strike, saying it was disappointed by action at such an important time of year for its customers.

Further action possible until September

The unions filed their strike notice on 4th August, covering the period from 7th August to 2nd September. The notice does not mean continuous strike action across the whole window, but allows the unions to call walkouts on selected dates, with any further action announced at least 48 hours in advance. No new dates had been named at the time of writing.

Under EU passenger rights rules, travellers whose flights are cancelled or significantly delayed by a crew strike may be entitled to rebooking, care and, in some cases, compensation, as the disruption stems from the airline’s own staff rather than external circumstances.

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Photo credit: Cassandra Tanti