Air France on Monday and yesterday canceled direct flights between Taipei and Paris due to an ongoing strike by its workers’ unions.
The cancelations came days after the airline resumed direct flights between Taipei and Paris on Tuesday last week, following a 21-year hiatus.
The direct flights normally depart from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, and from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Due to the strike, the airline was forced to cancel the flight scheduled to arrive in Taipei on Monday as well as the one leaving for Paris yesterday.
When asked about the strike, the airline’s senior vice president in Asia-Pacific, Antoine Pussiau, said on Tuesday last week that the company has full confidence in the reopening of the Taipei-Paris route, adding: “People should not believe too much of what has been said on social media.”
Air France chief executive officer Franck Terner also canceled his planned trip to Taipei for the inaugural flight on Tuesday, citing a “change of the situation” in France.
Air France workers have launched the strike to demand a pay raise, causing the airline to cancel flights to several destinations, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said.
The date when Air France would return to its normal flight schedule depends on the duration of the strike, the agency said, adding that the airline has been asked to properly handle its passengers’ affairs.
Prior to the two-day strike, Air France ground and flight crews had already staged nine days of strikes since February, demanding that the airline raise wages by 5.1 percent.
On Monday, 28.1 percent of Air France pilots, 19.6 percent of cabin crew and 13 percent of ground staff were estimated to have taken part in the strike, the company said on its Web site, adding that it had to cancel 25 percent of its flights.
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