Half of Air France ’s long- haul flights out of Paris were cancelled Thursday due to a strike over pay by pilots , cabin crew and ground staff .
“No cash, no planes ,” staff chanted as they marched noisily through Terminal 2 of Charles de Gaulle airport , wearing flourescent jackets and waving union flags .
Riot police twice used tear gas outside the terminal but the demonstration by hundreds of staff was otherwise peaceful and had finished by mid- afternoon .
Managers estimated that 28 percent of staff took part in the strike, allowing it to maintain 75 percent of its service but only 50 percent of long- haul flights out of Paris .
The airline had earlier advised travellers to postpone their trips until February 27 at no extra cost .
“Air France regrets this situation and is making every effort to minimise the inconvenience this strike action may cause to its customers, ” a statement said .
Salaries at Air France have been frozen since 2011, but the airline group reported an operating profit up 42 percent at 1.49 billion euros ($1. 84 billion) for last year.
After years of job cuts and other cost - cutting measures the staff are demanding a six -percent pay increase .
Management has said that such an increase would be “ irresponsible ” at a time when it is attempting to lower its costs to compete with low- cost carriers such as Ryanair and Easyjet.
It is offering a basic increase of one percent and a top - up for ground staff .

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