Delays, flight disruption as Paris airport workers strike

PARIS - Paris airport workers were due to go on strike Thursday to protest a salary freeze, in a work stoppage that will lead to delays and flight disruption.

The strike by employees of the Aeroports de Paris (ADP) group that manages three airports serving the French capital - Roissy-Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Le Bourget - begins at 1100 GMT Thursday and is due to last 24 hours, the DGAC civil aviation watchdog said.

Delays are expected at the main Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, and some 20 per cent of flights there are expected to be postponed or cancelled on Friday morning, it added.

No disruptions are expected at Orly, however.

Employees at ADP are angry at having their salaries frozen this year despite the good financial state of their company.

According to the CGT union, ADP is due to publish its annual financial results next week and report a net profit of at least 358 million euros ($406 million).

"Nearly 60 per cent of the profit will go to shareholders. We want employees to benefit from the good results too," CGT member Fabrice Michaud said.

The group told AFP that it had offered to meet the unions but these had refused, adding its offer still stood.

The strike comes just months after a crippling, 14-day work stoppage by Air France pilots saw scores of flights cancelled, costing the already struggling airline around 500 million euros.