Business travellers can now look forward to an eventful All Saints' Day weekend, with the unions maintaining their strike notice, with the exception of UNAC. In a press release issued on Thursday afternoon, Air France "regrets that a strike by flight attendants is disrupting the operation of its flights", and points out that "since last July, Air France management has negotiated continuously with the representative flight attendant unions". As a result, the carrier has not hesitated to take a harder line with its social partners: "The airline apologises to all its customers and deplores the fact that they are being held hostage under these conditions".
Even so, Air France intends to limit the damage - the company plans to operate 80 % of its flights on 29 October - while acknowledging the uncertainty surrounding the extent of the strike: "The company is doing its best to adjust its flight schedule, while there is still a great deal of uncertainty as to the level of participation by cabin crew in this strike, as they are not obliged to inform the company of their intention". The press release adds: "Delays and some cancellations 'on the spot', i.e. on the day of departure, are to be expected".
