France warns of mass disruption in airport strikes

France warns of mass disruption in 3 days of airport strikes

PARIS (AP) -- France's main airports are asking airlines to cut their flight timetables in half ahead of three days of strikes by air traffic controllers that begin Tuesday in France and spread throughout Europe on Wednesday.

The Airports of Paris on Monday warned of massive travel disruptions this week as air traffic controllers protest plans to centralized control of Europe's air space.

Strikes are expected to start in France Tuesday and spread throughout the European Union on Wednesday.

The strikes coincide with a speech Tuesday in Strasbourg by the EU's commissioner for transportation, who is asking to speed up the plan as inefficiencies in Europe's airspace costs airlines and customers 5 billion euros ($6.6 billion) annually.