The management had managed to quell the biggest social blaze in its history, with the inter-union strike by the cabin crew, which protested against institutionalized and increasing scheduling instability. On the eve of a new walkout, a fresh flare has just broken out.
We have learned that EasyJet’s National Pilots Union (SNPL) filed a strike notice on the evening of Thursday, September 3.
The anger has reached the fore of the low-cost’s aircraft.
While management had said it would not negotiate under the threat of a walkout, it ultimately had to yield due to the movement’s intensity and cost, as we revealed in a previous article.
Did the pilots seize the opening that had just appeared to push for a win?
Time will tell. In any case, discontent is audible in the cockpits of easyJet France, for reasons partly similar to those of their fellow cabin crew and flight attendants.
easyJet France: a strike notice during a September weekend
It will not run for several weeks, as was the case for the cabin crew.
The notice therefore outlines a social movement from September 13 at 04:59 to September 14 at 23:59.
A anger that fits within the framework of the NAO, the mandatory annual negotiations, which stretched over four months. The union laments meetings that were too rare, weak arguments, limited progress, and the absence of commitments from management.
“The Company expects you to be flexible every day to keep the operation running. It expects you to absorb disruptions, to accept changes in the schedule, to ensure difficult rotations, and to keep delivering“, explains the union leaflet.
Facing this high flexibility demanded of pilots, the SNPL deplores the lack of commitments to reduce fatigue and improve working conditions. It explains that the management states that now is not the right moment and hints at 2028, perhaps, as the appropriate year to advance on these topics.
The pilots do not want to wait.
The strike notice was communicated to the company on August 27, 2026. The staff representatives waited before publishing it, to give one last chance for dialogue.
easyJet France: “why should we invest in our pilots?”
The proposal involved a base salary increase of 3.7%, then in 2027 an increase that would be 2% above the consumer price index.
In addition, to finance ancillary measures, it was proposed to “reduce the base salary increase for all grades“. Across the entire low-cost network, pilots’ salary increases would likely range between 5% and 10% per year.
Other measures were also on the table, but they were too far from expectations. The proposal was therefore not submitted to a vote by SNPL members.
Moreover, a sentence reportedly uttered by the union seems to have lit the fuse.
When asked by the management to reward pilots faithful to the orange uniform, the response was: “why should we invest in our pilots?”
In addition, as with the cabin crew, there was a great daily instability in rosters, which reportedly reached 50.56% over the last two years, according to the document.
“The management has chosen not to listen. It wants our flexibility, our loyalty and our engagement, while refusing to grant us stability, meaningful protections, or even a functional social dialogue“, concludes the leaflet.
Note that in a few days, the cabin crew’s NAO negotiations should also begin… in an explosive climate.
Published by Romain Pommier Journalist – TourMaG.com See all articles by Romain Pommier
