Paris airport workers call off weekend strike after pay hike deal

Employees of Paris' main airport operator ADP have agreed to call off a planned weekend strike after a pay raise deal, local media reported on Friday.

In a meeting at the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, employees voted in favor of an agreement for a 3% increase, according to public broadcaster FranceInfo.

The ADP has also agreed to move ahead with salary raises for some 1,800 employees that were stalled due to the pandemic, the report said.

The decision means major disruptions are not expected this weekend, which marks the start of the summer holidays in France.

Hundreds of flights have been canceled as chaos reigned at airports in Paris since workers including firefighters and other ground staff started protests in late June.

Employees' unions had threatened to strike again this weekend if their demands for better pay and working conditions were not met.

They had initially demanded a 4% raise retroactive to January.

The Charles de Gaulle is still reeling from the impact of last week's protests and a technical breakdown that has left up to 20,000 baggage pieces stuck at the airport.

About 17,000 of those belong to Air France passengers and about 3,000 were from other airlines, an ADP union representative told BFMTV.

It will take months for passengers to get back their luggage, while many will just have to accept that their bags are lost forever, the official was quoted as saying.