Early-morning passengers arriving at Montpellier-Méditerranée on Thursday 18 December were greeted by blank departure boards and locked boarding gates. France’s largest air-traffic-controller union, the SNCTA, had launched a 24-hour walk-out after night-long talks with the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) collapsed over roster reforms and rest-time rules. By 06:00 the DGAC had closed the Montpellier area control centre and issued zero-movement NOTAMs for Montpellier, Nîmes-Garons and Perpignan–Rivesaltes. Lyon-Saint-Exupéry was ordered to cut 60 % of its schedule to relieve pressure on over-flight sectors.
The ripple effects were immediate. With most Christmas rail seats already sold out, regional exporters rerouted time-critical freight through Toulouse and Marseille, while corporate travel managers told staff to switch to remote meetings. Airlines reminded travellers that EU 261 compensation does not apply to strikes beyond a carrier’s control, but urged them to request ticket refunds quickly.
Immigration advisers highlighted an unexpected side-effect: third-country employees who rely on same-day Schengen visa runs via Montpellier missed biometric appointments. HR teams now face the prospect of rescheduling January start dates or flying new hires to Paris or Madrid for fresh appointments.
![Air-Traffic Controllers Shut Down Montpellier, Nîmes and Perpignan Airports]()
For HR professionals scrambling to secure alternative visa slots, VisaHQ can step in as a one-stop solution. The platform (https://www.visahq.com/france/) monitors appointment availability across all Schengen consulates, provides courier services for document submission, and offers real-time status updates—helping businesses keep onboarding timelines on track even when flight disruptions upend carefully laid plans.
The SNCTA warned that if negotiations do not restart it will stage a four-day national stoppage in mid-January—an alarming prospect as France gears up to host the 2026 Winter Youth Olympics. Government mediators will convene both sides next week, but analysts note that 2025 has already logged ten ATC strike days—double the EU average—eroding confidence in France’s aviation reliability.
For businesses the lesson is clear: build routing flexibility into travel policies, audit assignment start dates, and make sure travel-insurance clauses cover multi-modal rerouting during peak season.
The ripple effects were immediate. With most Christmas rail seats already sold out, regional exporters rerouted time-critical freight through Toulouse and Marseille, while corporate travel managers told staff to switch to remote meetings. Airlines reminded travellers that EU 261 compensation does not apply to strikes beyond a carrier’s control, but urged them to request ticket refunds quickly.
Immigration advisers highlighted an unexpected side-effect: third-country employees who rely on same-day Schengen visa runs via Montpellier missed biometric appointments. HR teams now face the prospect of rescheduling January start dates or flying new hires to Paris or Madrid for fresh appointments.
For HR professionals scrambling to secure alternative visa slots, VisaHQ can step in as a one-stop solution. The platform (https://www.visahq.com/france/) monitors appointment availability across all Schengen consulates, provides courier services for document submission, and offers real-time status updates—helping businesses keep onboarding timelines on track even when flight disruptions upend carefully laid plans.
The SNCTA warned that if negotiations do not restart it will stage a four-day national stoppage in mid-January—an alarming prospect as France gears up to host the 2026 Winter Youth Olympics. Government mediators will convene both sides next week, but analysts note that 2025 has already logged ten ATC strike days—double the EU average—eroding confidence in France’s aviation reliability.
For businesses the lesson is clear: build routing flexibility into travel policies, audit assignment start dates, and make sure travel-insurance clauses cover multi-modal rerouting during peak season.
