Some 25,000 passengers have been notified of cancellations via text message or email and further Air France flights could be delayed or scrapped on both long- and short-haul routes, she said.

The industrial action, which adds to disarray caused by freezing temperatures across Europe, should run until Thursday night and has been widely backed by France's pilots union.

Transport Minister Thierry Mariani has said the government will push through legislation allowing airlines to plan minimum services during a strike rather than finding out on the day that staff have not showed up to work.

The legislation, adopted in the lower house of parliament at the end of January, will pass to the Senate in mid-February.

(Reporting By Nicholas Vinocur; Editing by Brian Love)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency