Three French airports paralysed as air controllers strike

France's civil air authority said Thursday it had ordered airlines to cancel flights to and from three airports because of a strike by air traffic controllers.

The airports include Beauvais -- the main French hub for Irish carrier Ryanair and other budget airlines -- as well as Brest, in the far west of the country, and Carcassonne, in the south.

The DGAC air authority had asked Wednesday for half the Beauvais flights to be cancelled, but Thursday called for a complete grounding of planes "given the widespread support for the strike seen at air traffic controller unions in Beauvais, Brest and Carcassonne".

The strike, over working conditions, follows sporadic stoppages by air traffic controllers seen between March and May in protest against the government's reform of the French pensions system.

Thursday's strike did not affect the main French airports, the DGAC said, or carriers flying over France.

Beauvais, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Paris, is France's 10th busiest airport with 4.6 million passengers in 2022.