San Francisco Frontiers - Paris airport staff call off pre-Olympics strike

The deal "was finalised today between three representative unions and ADP management," said the airport company, which is 50.6-percent controlled by the French state.

"We're lifting the strike warning, there's a majority deal" among unions who threatened the walkout, said Rachid Eddaidj, secretary general of the CFDT union's branch at Paris Airports (ADP).

Unions had called for a stoppage on Wednesday to press for bigger Olympics bonuses and staff recruitment.

They have now secured a "standardised bonus for every worker at ADP" as well as extras for those helping with Olympic delegations and their baggage, management said.

Along with Paris' train stations, ADP-operated Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports will be the main gateways into France for foreign visitors to the Olympics, as well as athletes and their equipment.

The company has spent 50 million euros ($54 million) upgrading its infrastructure and French authorities are deploying extra resources to make the experience as smooth and safe as possible.

Charles de Gaulle is expecting peaks of 300,000 travellers passing through in a single day, well above the summer daily average of 200,000.

The busiest days are expected to come after the Olympics closing ceremony on August 11 when spectators, officials and most of the 10,000 athletes will head home.

Once out of the terminals, regular travellers will find multi-lingual "welcome teams" offering advice on travel and buying tickets at the train stations.

Police are also set to step up patrols against pickpockets.

U.Campbell--SFF