Air Canada flight from Pearson to Paris cancelled Wednesday due to France’s air traffic control strike

An Air Canada flight scheduled to leave Toronto Pearson airport for Paris was cancelled on Wednesday night due to an air traffic controllers strike in France, the airline confirmed.

The strike also impacted one incoming flight from Paris to Toronto that was scheduled for Thursday. Three flights departing from Toronto Pearson to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport today are currently unaffected.

“We’re very sorry, this flight is cancelled because an external labour disruption is affecting our operations,” reads Air Canada’s flight status update from Wednesday night.

French civil aviation authorities had preemptively requested airlines to cut their flights significantly — by 75 per cent at Paris-Orly, 55 per cent at Charles-de-Gaulle, and 65 per cent at Marseille-Provence, with varying reductions across other French airports. As a result, operations were severely limited, also affecting international flights that cross French airspace.

While the flights that did operate faced only moderate delays, significant cancellations and scheduling adjustments led to continued travel difficulties for thousands of passengers.

Though an ongoing labour disruption impacting airline food workers enters it’s second week, it was not the cause of Wednesday’s flight cancellation from Toronto to Paris. An Air Canada spokesperson alluded to a contingency plan in place that aims to ensure customers have food or snacks and a beverage or water on board. 

“While North American customers departing from and, in some cases, travelling to Toronto have seen a reduction in choices, there has been only minimal impact to onboard service on our international flights,” the Air Canada spokesperson wrote in an email to CityNews. 

“We are advising potentially affected customers prior to their flights and appreciate their understanding that this is a labour dispute at a third-party supplier to Air Canada.”

Correction note: A previous version incorrectly mentioned that Air Canada’s flight cancellation on Wednesday from Toronto Pearson to Paris was due to the ongoing airline food workers’ strike.