Air France Pilots: Strike at the Beginning of Euro 2016

The most important Air France pilots union began a referendum among its members with the possibility of triggering a six day strike. The cause of the strike is, primarily, a decrease in revenues expected in the coming period, reports Le Figaro. The result of the referendum will be revealed at the end of this month, when the representatives will announce if the strike could take place immediately before or after the start of the European Championship in France.

The referendum will be held, given that, on 31 May, the measures stipulated in the 'Transform 2015' agreement should be applied. The agreement disposes the reducing of the night rides bonus from 50% to 40% and smaller amounts for activity on the ground. Transform 2015 has not been applied until now because of a dispute in court between the union and the Air France management.

The possibility of triggering a strike during the debut of Euro 2016 divided even the pilots inside the union. 12 of the 87 board members of the union are against the action, believing that a conflict is not the right choice mainly around the European Football Championship, and demanded the change of the negotiation teams. Air France-KLM Group is the largest air operator in Europe and reduced its operating losses in the first quarter to 99 million euros from 417 million euros a year ago, due to cheaper fuel and restructuring measures applied by management.