THOUSANDS of British travellers had to switch from planes to boats and trains yesterday as a strike in France caused flight chaos.

The action by French air traffic controllers meant UK airlines had to cancel dozens of services.

Many air passengers crowded on to London-Paris high-speed Eurostar trains while others used Dover-Calais ferries. Channel Tunnel company Eurotunnel also reported busy traffic on its Folkestone-Calais passenger shuttle trains.

British Airways operated only 17 of its 120 daily French flights, although the airline used its larger 250-seater Boeing 767s.

"Most people have rebooked and we've been able to fly people who simply had to travel to France today," said a spokeswoman for the airline.

Budget airline easyJet cancelled 50 of its 70 French services, while Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair had to scrap 90 per cent of its French flights.

The French action was part of a public sector workers' protest against their government's plans to reform pension arrangements.

Further strikes could take place on June 2 and 3, and could affect rail services, although Eurostar said last night it expected to run its London-Paris services normally.