Air traffic controller unions in France have voted to hold a six-day strike next week beginning on Tuesday June 24 to 29.
Coming in the early holiday season, it is expected to disrupt travel for thousands of people in France as well as other European destinations.
The European members of the Air Traffic Controllers' Association were meeting on Friday to work out whether all flights across French airspace would be affected, or just ones landing in France.
In addition, the strike will follow the ongoing train protest which has lasted some 10 days so far and has hit domestic as well as some international travel. It is the largest industrial action in France for some years.
The air traffic controllers have warned of “heavy disruption” of flights and they expect there to be many cancellations.
More than 60% of the 4,000 members of the two biggest air traffic controllers' unions voted in favour.
The strikers are protesting against planned cuts between 2015 and 2019 which are part of a European Commission plan, called Single Sky Europe, to reduce air navigation costs by organising airspace into functional blocks, according to traffic flows rather than national borders.
Last June, union strikes forced the cancellation of 50% of flights.
And in January a similar strike by unions saw 20% of short and medium-haul flights cancelled, principally in the three Parisian airports – Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Beauvais. The SNCTA called off that strike after four days, when they received written assurances from the transport ministry.
France attracts more foreign tourists than any other country in the world, including some 17 million Britons each year.
ABTA, the British travel association, said that two thirds of all British journeys to France were made by ferry or Eurostar.
