French Air Controllers in their ivory towers

If there was ever a strike that was completely self-serving and foolish in equal parts, then it would be the French Air Traffic controllers. Not all of them, just those responsible for the Orly airspace. Charles de Gaulles, Beauvais and others are now operating with minimum disruption, but the downstream costs to airlines having to cancel, reschedule flights and breach curfew is costing them big, the passengers finding alternate routes no doubt delighting train operator SNCF.

The dispute centers around Air Traffic Centers of the greater Parisian area being bundled into a single larger operation, eliminating the costly and complex process of switching planes as they pass through the airspace of several towers. Hence, it would be in the interests of passengers being safer and having to pay less through ticket prices for the process. The union at Orly tower is the only one protesting the decision (it is more unionised), but the four other unions involved in representing the other airports have signed off on the amalgamation, after some extensive consultation. The outcome of the plan would be to bring Paris into line with aviation standard practice in large cities worldwide.

Imagine if you were flying from Dulles International (DC) to Logan International (Boston), and be cleared through the airspace of Reagan, Baltimore, Philadephia, Newark,Teterboro, JFK, and La Guardia in turn. Crazy considering the amount of traffic. That's what one union is all for in and around Paris.

Unions can believe in the greater good, a bit of give and take, can't they? Well, the reason the Orly CGT objects to the proposal is nothing to do with job cuts, working conditions or evil corporate bosses: They would not control the union in the new workplace.

School holidays are begginning for many French families, and this will be a further reminder that much power still remains in the hands of few. Often in these cases, the travelling public has an amount of sympathy for employees in the travel industry who exercise their right to strike; they also work.

However, when the puerile reason for the strike is revealed, the goodwill will evaporate quicker than a New Years' resolution. The government would have all the support it needs to legislate the changes forcefully, potentially and ironically putting all of the traffic controllers into a worse position that previously, despite the agreements reached between all the other parties.

So as the inconveniences mount to the travellers, the costs to the airlines, and the risk to passengers, I would urge the Air Traffic controllers to see what's approaching on the radar.