Air France, other airlines warn of massive disruptions from strike PARIS (AP) =97 France's air traffic controllers began a strike on Monday=20 night that could disrupt air traffic in and out of the country, airline=20 officials said. While some airlines had forecast that flights would be=20 affected Monday evening, a spokesman for France's airport authority said=20 there had been few, if any cancelations. The 32-hour strike was expected to= =20 begin in earnest Tuesday morning. Air France said most of its long-haul=20 flights =97 to destinations such as the United States, Asia and Africa =97= =20 would be unaffected by the 32-hour strike by air traffic controllers that=20 began about 9 p.m. on Monday. But the airline, "like all other carriers,=20 sees itself obliged to cancel a large number of short- and medium-haul=20 flights" within Europe on Tuesday, Air France said in a statement. British Airways said it canceled at least 64 flights through Wednesday=20 morning and warned of major disruptions between Britain and France.=20 Germany's Lufthansa was canceling a total of 70 flights between Monday=20 evening and Wednesday morning, company spokesman Thomas Jachnow said. The=20 action is part of a wider protest by France's public employees, including=20 train conductors, hospital staff and transport workers. Though, only the=20 air traffic strike was expected to cause serious disturbances. The strike=20 call also forced Polish airline LOT to call off flights Tuesday and one=20 flight Wednesday morning, while Scandinavian Airlines will drop 27 flights= =20 in France on Tuesday. An Air France spokeswoman said that despite the=20 reduced number of air traffic controllers expected to work Tuesday, flights= =20 that do take off would still be safe. "There will be controllers=20 controlling the skies," said the spokeswoman, who asked not to be=20 identified by name. "The quality and security of flights is absolutely not= =20 a problem." The powerful Communist Party-aligned CGT union said the=20 strikers were calling for improved pensions and pay and protesting=20 government plans to privatize state companies and services. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (chgdev) http://www.chagdev.com/ (Chaguaramas Development Authority) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************