'Not acceptable' - Thousands of Irish travellers affected as Ryanair cancels 170 flights

More than 30,000 passengers have had their travel plans disrupted after Ryanair was forced to cancel 170 flights on Thursday and Friday amid a nationwide air traffic controller strike in France.

The French civil aviation agency DGAC requested several carriers to reduce flights at Paris airports by a whopping 40% on Wednesday due to the strikes.

As the summer holidays kick off across Europe, making it one of the busiest travel periods of the year, the strikes couldn't have come at a worse time with Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary slamming the strikes as "unacceptable".

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The strikes will also affect journeys that need to travel across French airspace, including Ireland to Spain.

"Once again European families are held to ransom by French Air Traffic Controllers going on strike", said Mr O'Leary, "It is not acceptable that overflights over French airspace en route to their destination are being cancelled/delayed as a result of yet another French ATC strike.

"It makes no sense and is abundantly unfair on EU passengers and families going on holidays."

"It makes no sense and is abundantly unfair on EU passengers and families going on holidays," he added.

O'Leary has called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to take immediate action and reform European Union air traffic controllers' services by ensuring services are fully staffed for the first wave of daily departures while also protecting overflights during the strikes.

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"These two splendid reform would eliminate 90% of all ATC delays and cancellations, and protect EU passengers from these repeated and avoidable ATC disruptions due to yet another French ATC strike", Mr O'Leary added.

The Irish carrier has already been hit with cancellations and delays due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East with over 800 flights cancelled in June, but said it still operated more than 109,000 flights in the same month, marking fewer than 1% of flights that were affected.