French Air Controllers Ground Travellers

Industrial action by air-traffic controllers has left thousands of UK travellers severely delayed on route to or from Spanish resorts.

All flights to France from anywhere in the world were also cancelled on Tuesday.

Travellers across Spain saw their departures cancelled or delayed as a result of an air-traffic controller strike in France.

Yesterday, some 14 flights from Madrid's Barajas airport passing through French air space were called of when the strike started at 7pm on Monday.

In other parts of Spain, travellers faced long queues with - for example - hundreds delayed in Murcia from around 3pm until after 9pm on route back to Blackpool.

Also, flights from John Lennon Airport in Liverpool were cancelled with 10 flights to French and Spanish destinations halted because of the industrial action while other flights suffered delays.

Flights to Malaga, Madrid, Charles de Gaul, Arricefe (Lanzarote), Carcassonne, Alicante, Bergerac, Murcia, and Reus were affected.

In France multiple unions went on strike, halting planes, trains, buses, underground stations and schools, over plans to overhaul the state pension.

Hundreds more heading back to Belfast International were eventually coached to the larger Alicante facility as Murcia - a small regional airport - was closing at midnight so that the already delayed Jet2 flight was unable to land and take off again in time such was the long delay.

However, once boarded, the Northern Ireland passengers on the crowded jet was then forced sweat it out - fully loaded - on the tarmac for a further three hours as French controllers refused to reconsider a flight slot.

The original allocation had been missed due to previous inbound delays.

Take-off was permitted at 4am local time (3am UK) and the flight landed at Belfast International Airport this morning at 6am - some 8 hours late.

The air-traffic controllers are striking over working conditions and pay.

(BMcC/GK)