Spanish budget airline Vueling cancels 66 flights

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded Tuesday following the sixth straight day of cancellations and major delays involving flights by Spanish budget airline Vueling. The airline, part of British Airways and Iberia's parent group IAG, said it cancelled 66 flights on Tuesday because of a strike by French air traffic controllers. All but two of the flights that were cancelled were set to arrive or depart from airports in France, including Orly and Charles de Gaulle in Paris.
Vueling is not the only low-cost airline that says it has been affected by the strike by French air traffic controllers. Irish no-frills airline Ryanair said it had to cancel 102 flights on Tuesday in France and called on the European Commission to take action. "Over 18,000 Ryanair customers will have their flights and holidays cancelled," it said in a statement.
British no-frills airline EasyJet also predicts delays and cancellations, saying 65 percent of its flights fly over France. But French authorities said turnout for the strike was low and they had not asked airlines to reduce their flights because of the strike. Problems with Vueling flights began on Thursday, coinciding with the start of the summer vacation for many passengers going through Barcelona's El Prat airport, the airline's base.