PARIS - British budget carrier easyJet has called off about 100 flights out of French airports on Aug 16 and 17 because of a strike by cabin crew furious over repeated changes to their schedules.

Unions said about half of the company’s 900 French-based cabin crew would join the strike, which would affect about half of the flights out of two Paris airports, Nice, Bordeaux and Lyon.

The airline’s management has called the action “opportunistic” as it falls on a major national holiday weekend when airports are busy.

France is a key market for the low-cost airline, which was recently taken over in a US$7.7 billion (S$9.8 billion) deal by US private equity firm Apollo.

Its passenger numbers in France are second only to Air France.

Most of the flights were cancelled on Aug 15, with the company saying it wanted to help passengers find alternative routes.

William Bourdon of the SNPNC-FO union said that cabin crew wanted “stability” in their duties.

He said some crew could see their hours and destinations changed 50-60 times a week.

“For anything to do with personal life or childcare, it makes things extremely complicated to organise because most of the changes come at the last moment – 24 to 48 hours before,” he told AFP.

“It is a permanent musical chairs,” Bourdon added.

The three unions involved in talks have warned of strikes between Aug 7 and Sept 2.

When easyJet lacks staff at an airport, they are called in from another base, which must then fill its own gaps, said Bourdon.

Cabin crew want “stability” in their duties, said a union representative. He said some crew see their hours and destinations changed 50-60 times a week.

PHOTO: AFP

Ahead of the action, easyJet urged staff to call off the strike on such a busy weekend. It said it had made offers to change staff conditions and that talks were planned in September.

A previous strike in April had only a limited impact. Unions accused the company of offering bonuses of up to €700 (S$1,000) to work on that day of action.

Bourdon said he had warned the company against using a similar “illegal” tactic this weekend.

EasyJet declined to comment on this when reached by AFP. AFP