Paralysis of European airports. Thousands of flights are in doubt

On Thursday, June 18, 2026, passengers flying to, from and through Paris will experience serious disruptions. On that day, there will be a 24-hour strike by ground handlers at all three Paris airports: Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Le Bourget. Although flights will not be suspended completely, huge delays and disruptions to air traffic are expected.

France. Employees announce a strike at airports

The strike was announced by trade unions on May 22. The reason for the protest is the stricter regulations regarding the issuance and renewal of security passes that enable work in restricted areas of airports. Employees fear that the new rules could lead to the loss of privileges even for minor or past offenses.

The people responsible will take part in the protest, including: for baggage handling, preparing planes for take-off, checking security zones, as well as cleaning workers and terminal staff. There are no pilots or air traffic controllers participating in the strike, which means that the air operations system itself will continue to operate, but the entire “ground” infrastructure will be severely slowed down.

Strike at airports in Paris. Inconvenience to passengers

The biggest problems may occur at Charles de Gaulle airport, which serves millions of passengers and is one of the most important transfer hubs in Europe. Additionally, most flights take place on Thursday. Additionally, June is a period of increased tourist traffic. In such conditions, delays in baggage collection, extended boarding and flight delays due to slower ground handling are possible.

Transit passengers will be particularly vulnerable to problems as Paris’ largest airport is a key hub for connections between Europe and North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africasupported by, among others: by Air France, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad. A slowdown in ground operations may result in the loss of connections and the need to reorganize travel.