PARIS, April 12, 2007 (AFP) - A strike by French air traffic controllers caused flight cancellations at Paris' Orly airport on Thursday and disruptions were also expected at Charles de Gaulle international airport.

Hundreds of flights from Orly airport and from Charles de Gaulle international airport were expected to be cancelled due to the strike, said Marc Hamy, director of air navigation services at the civil aviation authority.

"We expect 35 to 50 percent of flights to be cancelled from Orly today and hope to maintain 400 of the 700 daily flights that are scheduled," Hamy told AFP.

He said up to 500 out of the 1,500 flights scheduled to fly out of Charles de Gaulle airport would be grounded and that many flights would be delayed in the afternoon.

Workers belonging to two unions are protesting at plans to merge air traffic control operations for the Paris region at one site separate from the airports.

At Orly, which provides flights to cities within France and to nearby European destinations, four of the 12 air traffic controllers usually on duty were on the job to ensure minimal services.

At Charles de Gaulle airport, all but two of the 30 air traffic controllers were at their posta early Thursday, said Hamy.

Copyright AFP

Subject: French news