easyJet France Pilot Strike — Day 2 and Final Day: SNPL’s 43-Hour Walkout Ends Tonight at Midnight as Pilots Demand the Same Roster Protections Cabin Crew Won Last Month — What UK and European Passengers Need to Know Right Now

Today is the last day of a strike that pilots say never needed to happen — and the union insists, right up to the final hours, that it still doesn’t.

France’s national airline pilots’ union, the Syndicat National des Pilotes de Ligne (SNPL), called easyJet’s France-based pilots to strike from 04:59 on Sunday, September 13, through 23:59 tonight, Monday, September 14 — a 43-hour action affecting easyJet’s operations across its 21 French airports, including the major international hub of Paris Charles de Gaulle. Today marks the strike’s second and final day. The dispute centers on what SNPL describes as “chronic instability” in pilots’ work schedules, with the union alleging that rosters can be changed several times in the same week — in some cases, pilots have reported a single day’s schedule being altered up to ten times before departure.

The timing is pointed: this strike follows directly on the heels of easyJet’s own cabin crew reaching a settlement with the airline after their own two-day walkout on August 15-16, which caused close to 100 flight cancellations at the height of peak summer travel. That agreement guaranteed cabin crew at least five fixed days per month when their schedules cannot be altered, plus compensation for any schedule change made with less than two hours’ notice. SNPL’s core argument is straightforward: if easyJet could grant these protections to cabin crew, it can extend the same terms to pilots — and the union says it isn’t asking the airline to invent anything new, just to apply solutions that already exist elsewhere within the company.

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Published: September 14, 2026 — Monday (Strike Day 2 of 2 — Ends Tonight at 23:59)
Strike window: 04:59 September 13 – 23:59 September 14, 2026 (43 hours)
Called by: Syndicat National des Pilotes de Ligne (SNPL)
Scope: easyJet’s France-based pilot workforce across 21 French airports, including Paris CDG
Core dispute: Chronic roster instability — schedules reportedly altered up to 10 times in a single day before departure
Union’s demand: The same protections cabin crew secured in August — 5 fixed/”untouchable” days per month, plus compensation for schedule changes with under 2 hours’ notice
Precedent — August cabin crew strike: August 15-16, ~100 flight cancellations, resolved with the roster-protection agreement now cited by SNPL
Union’s public stance today: Remains open to negotiation — “the company can still avoid this strike… it simply needs to apply [existing solutions] to pilots as well”
UK routes potentially affected: Nice, Paris, and Lyon connections to London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Newcastle
Live cancellation numbers for today: Not independently confirmed at time of writing — check easyJet’s app directly for your specific flight
EU261 compensation: ✅ Applies — this is an airline staff strike, treated as within easyJet’s control, unlike third-party ground-handling or security strikes
Also happening in Italy this weekend (context): ADR Security strike at Rome Fiumicino/Ciampino (Sept 13), Aviation Services ground-handling strike (Sept 13), regional actions at Cagliari, Alghero, and Olbia

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Why This Strike Is Different From the Cabin Crew Dispute — and Why It Matters More For Compensation

Both disputes originate from the same underlying grievance — unstable, frequently-changed rosters — but this pilot action is likely to prove more operationally disruptive than August’s cabin crew strike for one structural reason: an aircraft cannot fly without a pilot, full stop, whereas a cabin crew shortage can sometimes be partially absorbed with different staffing configurations depending on aircraft type and route. That distinction means today’s disruption, and yesterday’s, likely produced outright cancellations rather than the schedule adjustments and aircraft swaps that characterized parts of August’s action.

For passengers, the compensation picture is genuinely favorable here compared to many of the disruptions covered elsewhere on this site recently. Because SNPL’s members are easyJet’s own employees, not third-party ground-handling or security contractors, this strike sits squarely within the airline’s control under EU law — meaning the extraordinary circumstances shield that protects airlines from cash compensation liability in strikes like Italy’s ADR Security action or Spain’s Groundforce dispute does not apply here.

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What “Chronic Roster Instability” Actually Looks Like for a Pilot

SNPL’s specific grievance is worth understanding in concrete terms, since “unstable schedules” can sound abstract. According to the union, pilots have reported their published monthly duty calendars bearing little resemblance to what they actually end up flying, with some pilots seeing a single day’s schedule altered as many as ten times before the actual departure. For any professional whose legally mandated rest periods and family commitments depend on knowing their schedule in advance, that level of last-minute volatility is what SNPL argues erodes both quality of life and, ultimately, operational safety margins over time.

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What to Do If You’re Flying easyJet From France Today

✅ Check easyJet’s app or website immediately for your specific flight’s status — as of this writing, easyJet had not published a fully revised schedule, meaning individual flight status can change with limited notice
✅ Watch for knock-on disruption tomorrow, September 15 — aircraft and crew displaced by a two-day strike often take an extra day to fully reposition, even after the strike itself ends at midnight tonight
✅ If your flight is cancelled, request compensation, not just a refund — because this is an airline staff strike, you’re entitled to the full EU261 compensation tier (up to €600 depending on distance) in addition to your refund or rebooking choice
✅ If connecting through Paris CDG or another major French base, build in extra buffer time even for flights not directly affected, given the broader schedule disruption across the airline’s French network

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Your Complete EU261 Rights Guide

✅ Cash Compensation — Applies, Up to €600

Because this is easyJet’s own pilots striking, not a third-party contractor, standard EU261 compensation tiers apply to any cancelled flight:

• €250 for routes under 1,500km
• €400 for routes 1,500-3,500km
• €600 for routes over 3,500km

✅ Refund or Rebooking — Your Choice

Choose between a full cash refund to your original payment method or free rebooking on the next available easyJet flight.

✅ Duty of Care — Meals and Accommodation

For significant delays or overnight disruption tied to this strike, easyJet must provide meals, refreshments, and — where needed — hotel accommodation and transfers, entirely separate from your compensation claim.

How to Claim

Contact easyJet directly first via easyjet.com’s disruption claims portal. If unresolved, UK passengers can escalate to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (caa.co.uk/passengers); for flights departing France, the DGAC’s consumer complaints route also applies.

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Contacts

French DGAC (complaints): ecologie.gouv.fr/dgac UK CAA passenger rights: caa.co.uk/passengers

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Related Articles:

 

• easyJet France Cabin Crew Vote on Extending Strike Motion Beyond September 2
• Italy Strikes Final Warning: Rome, Tuscany, Cagliari Sunday

Posted By : Vinay

As a lead contributor for Travel Tourister, Vinay is dedicated to serving our Tier 1 audience (US, UK, Canada, Australia). His mission is to deliver precise, fact-checked news and actionable, data-driven articles that empower readers to make informed decisions, minimize travel risks, and maximize their adventure without compromising safety or budget.