STORY: Many travelers at Paris-Orly airport made long faces. A strike by air traffic controllers on Friday severely disrupted air traffic. Air France had already canceled half of the planned routes in the run-up to the strike, especially on short and medium-sized routes. Affected passengers could have the money refunded or rebook without additional fees, Air France said. But many had big problems: “It’s a bit stressful, we have to find a solution quickly because we’re expected in another hotel in a different place. Apart from the fact that it’s stressful, it’s also a bit annoying because we were told it’s because of the strike. It’s not the airlines fault, we understand it’s because of the strike.” “They want a wage increase, that’s it, I understand them, but they should do the strike in a different way.” Germany was also affected by the strike. It was announced that about every second flight to and from Germany would be cancelled. Irish airline Ryanair canceled a total of 420 flights on Friday. The airline said the measure would affect 80,000 passengers. An air traffic controllers’ union had called the strike to back demands for higher salaries and the hiring of more skilled workers.