French airport workers go on strike: MEA adjusts Paris-Beirut flights

BEIRUT — Due to the ongoing employees' strikes in French airports, the Lebanese airline Middle East Airlines (MEA) has announced adjustments to its flights to and from Paris on July 4 and 5.

The flight ME229/ME230 (round-trip Beirut – Paris) scheduled for the afternoon of Thursday, July 4, has been canceled. An additional service is therefore scheduled for the night of Friday, July 4 to Saturday, July 5:

• Flight ME209: departing from Beirut to Paris, at 2:30 a.m. (local time), Saturday, July 5.
• Flight ME210: departing from Paris to Beirut, at 7:10 a.m. (local time), Saturday, July 5.

Passengers affected by the cancellation of flight ME229/ME230 will have their places automatically reserved on the alternative flight, at no extra charge. Passengers can also change their reservation to other MEA flights, the company statement specifies.

Air traffic controllers are on strike in France as the summer holidays begin. Their movement is expected to gain momentum on Friday.

The second union of air traffic controllers (in terms of employee representation), Unsa-Icna, called for a strike on Thursday and Friday against an ongoing reform to establish a check-in system for controllers at the start of their shift, following a "serious incident" at Bordeaux airport (southwest) in late 2022, when two planes nearly collided.

The union denounced "a maintained under-staffing responsible for delays for a large part of the summer," obsolete tools, and "toxic management, incompatible with the requirements of calm and security." The third union, Usac-CGT (16% of the vote), had joined the movement, while the first, SNCTA, had told AFP it was not calling for a strike.