- Title: FRANCE: AIR FRANCE PILOTS GO ON STRIKE IN MOVE LIKELY TO DISRUPT WORLD CUP.
- Date: 1st June 1998
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JUNE 1, 1998) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. GV/PAN: AIRPORT, AEROPLANES 0.14 2. GV/PAN: PLANE WITH WORLD CUP LOGO 0.22 3. GV: INTERIOR OF AIRPORT WITH WORLD CUP POSTER 0.26 4. CU/GV: DEPARTURES BOARD WITH CANCELLATIONS (3 SHOTS) 0.36 5. GV/MV: PASSENGERS AT ENQUIRIES COUNTER (2 SHOTS) 0.51 6. GV/PAN: FAIRLY EMPTY CHECK IN COUNTER 0.58 7. SCU: WOMAN PASSENGER SPEAKS: "SAME FOR EVERYONE. THE PLANES ARE CANCELLED." WHAT YOU GOING TO DO? "I CHANGED THE TICKETS, NO PROBLEM. SO WERE GOING TO GO WITH ANOTHER CARRIER." (FRENCH) 1.14 8. SV: SIGN WARNING OF STRIKES 1.23 9. SV/CU: QUIET CHECK-IN COUNTERS (3 SHOTS) 1.46 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 16th June 1998 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City:
- Country: France
- Reuters ID: LVA2KS4YGR73PIDOZDX9V0UO5FAN
- Story Text: The French state airline Air France has been nearly entirely crippled as pilots began a strike likely to affect the World Cup soccer tournament.
Between 75 and 90 percent of the airline's scheduled flights were cancelled on Monday (June 1), airport sources reported.
There was little confusion at airports, however, since most passengers had heard of the strike and changed their travel plans.
Foreign airlines flying in and out of France were not affected.
Railway stations reported that main express trains to provincial destinations were full of passengers initially due to fly on Air France's domestic lines.
The strike began despite a call late on Sunday by Transport Minister Jean-Claude Geyssot to get talks resumed between pilots and management.
Some 98 percent of Air France's 3,200 pilots were to strike over company plans to cut their salaries by a total of 500 million francs (83.5 million U.S.dollars) a year to fund an ambitious expansion programme, including purchase of 70 new sarcraft and development of new runways at Paris airports.
Union representative Christian Paris, replying to Gayssot, said the pilots refused the salary cuts and disputed estimates that Air France pilots earned up to 40 percent more than British or German colleagues.
Talks broke down on Friday setting the scene for the strike which is to extend from June 1 to 4 but which could be renewed every four days after that.
The action is likely to disrupt transport arrangements for the month-long soccer World Cup, which begins on June 10.
Air France, official carrier for the World Cup, has promised to provide flights for all the teams in the 32-nation tournament.
But with games being played in 10 different stadiums dotted around the country, thousands of fans risk being stranded.
Those Air France flights which will be maintained will be undertaken mostly by outside carriers chartered by the company.
Air France chairman Jean-Charles Spinetta has said the strike would be devastating for the state-controlled company, which announced earlier this week it had returned to profit after seven years in the red.
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