Budget airline Ryanair said it had been forced to cancel more than 170 flights and the holiday plans of more than 30,000 passengers had been disrupted.
Two French unions were staging the two-day strike over working conditions, leading to a quarter of flights being cancelled at the main airports in Paris and half of flights at Nice airport.
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot condemned as unacceptable both the unions' demands and their decision to go on strike at such an important time for people going on holiday.
