close
close

Paris airport staff call off strike before Olympics


Paris airport staff call off strike before Olympics

Charles de Gaulle and Orly, the two main airports in Paris, will be heavily used during the Olympic Games (Miguel MEDINA)

Charles de Gaulle and Orly, the two main airports in Paris, will be heavily used during the Olympic Games (Miguel MEDINA)

Paris airport workers have called off a strike that would have disrupted travel ahead of the Olympic Games after reaching an agreement on bonuses, union representatives said on Tuesday.

The deal was “concluded today between three representative unions and the ADP management,” said the airport company, which is 50.6 percent controlled by the French state.

“We are lifting the strike warning, there is a majority agreement” among the unions that had threatened strikes, said Rachid Eddaidj, general secretary of the CFDT union at Paris airports (ADP).

The unions had called for a work stoppage on Wednesday to push for higher Olympic bonuses and staff recruitment.

The company management said it had now implemented a “standardized bonus for every worker at ADP” as well as additional payments for those who took care of the Olympic delegations and their luggage.

In addition to the Paris train stations, Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, operated by ADP, will be the main gateways to France for foreign visitors to the Olympic Games, as well as for athletes and their equipment.

The company has invested 50 million euros (54 million dollars) to modernize its infrastructure and French authorities are deploying additional resources to make the process as smooth and safe as possible.

Charles de Gaulle expects peak numbers of 300,000 travelers in a single day, significantly more than the daily average of 200,000 in summer.

The busiest days are likely to come after the Olympics closing ceremony on August 11, when spectators, officials and most of the 10,000 athletes head home.

After leaving the terminals, frequent travelers will find multilingual “welcome teams” at the train stations who will offer them travel advice and help them purchase tickets.

In addition, the police want to take more action against pickpockets.

tq/tgb/dc/gj

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *