Air France cancels a quarter of its flights on first day of Easter over pay strikes

Striking workers are pushing for a 6 per cent pay rise

Air France has cancelled a quarter of its flights due to a day-long strike over pay.

The company said in a statement that 20 per cent of its long-haul flights were cancelled on Friday as well as 30 per cent of its medium-haul flights arriving and departing from Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

Air France recommended that passengers check their flights before going to the airport and has offered to change tickets for free.

The strike aims to put pressure on management to increase salaries by 6 per cent.

It comes amid protests against French president Emmanuel Macron‘s economic changes. Trains, planes, schools and other public services have been disrupted due to protests against labour reforms, particularly on the railways.

The company said only flights on Air France or Joon aircraft would be affected, not others which it operates like KLM and Delta.

“We now offer rebooking options at no extra cost, no matter the fare,” the company said.

It was too early to say how or whether more industrial action planned for 3 April would affect services, it added.

Air France said it would operate 76 per cent of its flight schedule on Friday – 80 per cent of long- and short-haul trips, and 70 per cent of medium-haul ones.

On 3 and 4 April, rail workers will stop work in the first of a string of two-day strikes against Mr Macron's reforms, hitting Eurostar and other services.

Last year Mr Macron introduced a plan for sweeping economic changes, including making it easier to hire and fire employees while giving companies a greater say over working conditions.