Three-day strike by French air traffic controllers regarding "loss of doughnuts in the control tower"

A three-day strike is being carried out by French air traffic controllers because airport bosses are trying to save money by taking away their doughnuts.

Everyday, at airports across France air traffic controllers start their day with a cup of coffee and a shared box of doughnuts which is paid for through airport funds. Now, French airport bosses are making cut backs on the refreshments, though we can see this has not gone down well with those on the receiving ends of these cut-backs.

Currently, all airlines using French airports have been asked to cancel 50 per cent of their services, but flights that cross over French airspace will also be affected, causing further disruption across the continent.

The strike action began at 6am local time and air traffic controllers will not return to work until 6am on Friday, by which time they hope to have made a point to their bosses that they will not work without doughnuts.

British Airways said their were "significant" cancellations to flights to and from France and warned there may also be delays to services to and from Spain and North Africa due to airspace restrictions.

easyJet also warned travellers that airlines have been advised to expect only 50 per cent of normal services, which means it will have to cancel approximately 128 flights each day, and easyJet have confirmed that customers will not receive a refund or any type of compensation with regards to their cancelled flights as they said "It is out of our hands what happens in France and we can't be handing out compensation to every Tom, Dick and Harry."

France's civil aviation authority confirmed that one in every two flights to Paris, Lyon, Toulouse and Bordeaux is cancelled as these are the main airports which are taking away ATC's doughnuts.

Airlines are contacting passengers affected by cancellations and offering them the chance to rebook or receive a refund, easyJet being the exception to this of course, as we previously pointed out earlier in the article.

The latest updates can be found on each website and passengers are advised to check with their airline before travel.

Other airports affected include Beauvais-Tille, Rouen, Nice-Cote d'Azur and Marseille. Airport bosses were contacted by this site, but they refused to comment on the doughnut situation.