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Bloomberg
Air France-KLM’s French arm faces possible strikes throughout the year-end holiday as workers step up pressure to adjust salaries in the face of spiralling inflation.
Two Air France cabin crew unions issued a strike notice from December 22 to January 2, according to statements posted on their websites.
Air France said it questions the logic of the strike notice, given new salary negotiations are already under way and will continue beyond January, a spokesman for the group said by email. The carrier “will pursue dialog†with worker representatives in the same way it has done previously, he said.
The possibility of disruptions at Air France comes at a time European carriers have struggled to expand their services amid rising travel demand, while airports like Amsterdam’s Schiphol and others in the UK grapple with labour shortages. Air France was successful in avoiding strikes in recent months during a summer of chaos for travellers throughout Europe.
Other companies in France also faced disruptions recently in a series of protests against the rising cost of living. Strikes by oil refinery workers disrupted fuel distribution last month, causing shortages at filling stations across the country. Thousands of people joined demonstrations in Paris on October 18 to demand a bigger share of corporate profits.
The stock of Air France-KLM came under pressure after the company began selling $312 million of bonds convertible into shares, part of an effort to repay government aid issued during the pandemic.