Paris, April 10 (RHC)-- Airlines in France canceled hundreds of flights and many more were delayed across the country as air traffic controllers push ahead with their general strike. France's civil aviation authority has asked airlines to scrap around half of their flights to, from and inside France to avoid chaos in airports.

Earlier, it asked airlines to cancel only 40% of their flights, and advised passengers to check possible alteration in their flights. Flag carrier, Air France, had warned passengers of a “very severe disruption” in its flight schedules.

Thursday’s industrial action ended the second day of a two-day strike by French airports flight control staff. The air traffic controllers union, which organized the event, has threatened to do two more instances of industrial action during key holiday periods on April 16 to 18 and April 29 to May 2, if their demands are not met by the authorities until then.

French National Union of Air Traffic Controllers, also known as the SNCTA, demands that French civil transport officials hold talks with union representatives over working conditions, and particularly, change the retirement age, currently set at 59, to 57 years old.