FOOTBALL fans were left panicking after more than 200 flights were cancelled due to the latest air traffic control (ATC) strike in France.

Supporters travelling to Lyon for the Euro 2016 semi-final between Wales and Portugal have been caught up in the disruption caused by the 13th such strike in the past 14 weeks.

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More than 200 flights to, from and over France were cancelled on Tuesday with others set to be delayed, according to Airlines for Europe (A4E), a lobby group representing carriers such as easyJet, Ryanair and British Airways' parent company IAG.

Four flights into Lyon airport were grounded, including an easyJet service from London Luton to Lyon.

Matt Jones, from London, has tickets for Wednesday night's match in the city and was not informed of the cancellation until 11pm on Monday.

He said: "It led to an hour or so of panic trying to make other arrangements.

"There were no alternative flights and most of the Eurostar journeys were fully booked.

"Luckily, we were able to find two train tickets but it has cost us an extra £210, plus it means a full day of travelling today."

Although Mr Jones is an England fan, there is no question about where his loyalties will lie on Wednesday.

"Definitely we'll be cheering on the Welsh," he said.

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Ryanair cancelled 102 flights on Tuesday.

Kenny Jacobs, the Dublin-based carrier's chief marketing officer, said: "These unacceptable French strikes have become weekly events by now, aimed at causing maximum disruption for families and business passengers."

A spokesman for easyJet, which cancelled 46 flights, assured passengers that "it will do everything possible to limit the inconvenience of this strike".

He added that passengers on cancelled flights have been contacted by email or text message.

British Airways would not confirm its number of cancellations, but issued a statement which read: "We once again urge the French government and the trade unions to resolve their issues so that customers can go on their holidays and business trips without these frequent threats of strike action hanging over them."

A4E hosted a summit of airline bosses in Brussels last week to demand that Europe's skies are kept open during ATC strikes.

They want unions to be required to engage in binding arbitration to resolve disputes, for European ATCs to be allowed to manage flights in other countries' airspace during strikes and protection for international flights over a country whose ATCs are on strike.

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According to A4E there have been 213 days of disruption in Europe due to ATC strikes since 2010.