French air traffic controllers are in the second day of a four day strike causing havoc for travellers.

As labour unrest continues to roll across Europe, half of the flights out of Orly Airport in Paris, France and 25 per cent of flights at Charles de Galle airport have been cancelled through Saturday.

The action comes a day after German-based Lufthansa and its pilots' union agreed to suspend its standoff and return to the bargaining table. The suspension will expire on 8 March, barring an agreement before then, both sides said in a Frankfurt labour court.

 British Airways cabin crew have also voted to strike, although no dates were announced.

Unite, the union that represents the workers, said it is continuing negotiations with the airline.

Like Lufthansa pilots, British Airways staff are concerned about wages and job security as larger, older airlines deal with the twin blows of the global recession and increased competition from low-cost carriers.

"These are not mindless militants looking to bring the company down, these are ordinary, decent people who do a highly professional job, and very evidently they have a deep set of grievances," Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of Unite told CNN.

European airlines were not the only ones hurting. Japan Airlines de-listed its shares from trading in Tokyo Saturday as part of its bankruptcy restructuring. And in Australia, Qantas Airlines announced this week it would eliminate first class travel from its flights.

Beyond the airline industry, other labour disputes are spilling into industrial action in Europe. French gas giant Total said about 100 of 4,000 gas stations in the country are beginning to run out of fuel as a strike by oil refinery workers enters a second week.

And in Spain, trade unions are holding large protests in Madrid, Barcelona, and Valenca today, against a government plan to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67.

Widespread strikes are also being held in Greece over austerity measures the government plans to implement to cut its large public debt, which has caused stock market jitters and concerns that sovereign debt problems will spill across the world.