• staff would go on strike from December 22 to January 2 unless they are granted better working conditions and higher wages.

French media circulated a joint leaflet sent by the UNAC and SNGAF unions, which represent Air France flight attendants, in which they told the management that staff would go on strike from December 22 to January 2 unless they are granted better working conditions and higher wages.

"This notice should serve as a warning to our management. If we are not heard, all we will have to do is call for an active strike," the leaflet read.

In the meantime, France's flag carrier has been demanding its staff to increase their productivity, saying an employee is expected to serve 50 passengers while on a Christmas flight instead of the usual 48, according to French newspaper Le Figaro.

Reports say that the Air France management counts on the holiday period for enough profit to be able to compensate part of the losses caused by pandemic-related cancellation of many flights.

During Covid-19, airlines around the world struggled to keep up normal operations. Affected by travel restrictions, most had to cut jobs and disrupt flight schedules. The soaring inflation and food and energy prices over the past year across Europe in general and in France in particular have triggered a wave of worker protests over deteriorating living conditions.