A walkout by French air traffic controllers to protest against staff shortages and ageing equipment forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights on Thursday, just as the summer season gets under way.

French air traffic controllers staged the second day of a two-day strike on Friday, prompting the cancellation of hundreds of flights not just to-and-from France but also overflying the country as summer holidays kick off.

An air traffic controllers' strike in France is affecting more than 500,000 travellers at the start of the summer holidays, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said on Friday. Of the 1,000 air traffic controllers scheduled to be on duty,