A French Cabin-Crew Strike Grounds Six easyJet Portugal Flights This Weekend
EasyJet has cancelled six return flights between France and Portugal on 15-16 August as its France-based cabin crew strike. Affected passengers can rebook free or claim a refund.
Travellers moving between France and Portugal this weekend have a fresh disruption to watch. EasyJet has cancelled six return flights between the two countries on Saturday and Sunday because of a strike by its France-based cabin crew, an official source at the airline confirmed to the Lusa news agency on Friday.
The carrier said it took the decision as a preventive measure, cancelling ahead of time so that passengers could rearrange their plans with as much notice as possible. Anyone booked on the affected services is being contacted directly and offered alternatives, including a free transfer to another flight or a full refund of the amount paid.
The industrial action is scheduled for 15 and 16 August — the heart of the summer travel peak — and is supported by the three unions representing cabin staff in France: SNPNC-FO, UNAC-CFE-CGC and UNPNC-CFDT. According to the unions, the strike was called after negotiations with management over working conditions broke down.
EasyJet pushed back hard on the timing. The company said the walkout was convened "outside any formal negotiation process," despite it having tabled proposals to address the unions' concerns, and it appealed to the unions to suspend the action, which it branded "opportunistic" for falling in a period of high demand. It also noted that further talks are already scheduled for September.
For now, the six Portugal-France cancellations are a small slice of a much larger picture on the French side. A separate tally put the strike's toll at a minimum of 40 cancelled flights across France over the weekend, as the stoppage rippled through easyJet's schedule at French bases. The Portugal routes were pulled pre-emptively rather than because crews on those specific services walked out.
The airline's advice to customers is straightforward. Passengers with flights to or from France on 15 and 16 August should check the status of their journey through easyJet's flight-tracking system before travelling to the airport. Those who find their flight cancelled can use the transfer or refund options being offered, and the earlier they act, the more rebooking choices are likely to remain during a stretch when planes are already full.
The dispute also arrives at a delicate moment for easyJet itself, which has spent recent weeks navigating corporate manoeuvring around investment proposals from outside funds. But for the holidaymaker trying to get to Lisbon, Porto or Faro — or home again — the immediate concern is narrower: confirm the booking, keep an eye on the tracker, and have a plan B ready in case the weekend's schedule shifts again. With September talks looming and no resolution in sight, this may not be the last summer weekend disrupted by France's cabin-crew unions.
