French airports on Friday were hit by a major traffic disruption with at least a thousand flights canceled or delayed due to a strike by air traffic controllers.

Citing the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, BFMTV reported about 1,000 flights were canceled by various airlines.

Nearly all companies flying from and arriving at French airports have complied with the civil aviation authority's directives to cancel one out of two flights, Thomas June, president of the Union of French airports, told FranceInfo news.

Air traffic controllers are on a strike to demand salary hikes and rapid recruitment to fill vacancies.

June regretted the strike and said it was unfortunate that people are being affected by their actions. “We are in a period of traffic reconstruction after two years of unprecedented situation… this strike comes not at the best time, and we regret it.”

However, he said the air traffic controllers' demands were legitimate in the “face of changes in purchasing power and inflation.” (Anadolu Agency)