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The Associated Press
P A R I S, June 18 - Air traffic controllers in France are planning an all-day walkout Wednesday that threatens to shut down the country's airports.

The French strike, at the height of the summer travel season, coincides with a four-hour walkout in Greece and Portugal and a one-hour freeze in Italy.

Up to 70 percent of previously scheduled departures or arrivals were expected to be canceled, the Civil Aviation Authority said Tuesday.

It said only 50 percent of other flights involving French airspace could be assured.

Air traffic controllers are protesting a continent-wide "single-sky" plan to reduce congestion and delays. It would bring all air traffic controllers under unified supervision so airlines can fly routes that aren't defined by European borders.

Trade unions fear the plan will lead to privatization of air traffic control, job losses and reduced air safety.

European Union transportation ministers met on Monday in Luxembourg to discuss the plan.

A similar strike by French workers alone last December caused major disruptions across Europe.

Another strike in June 2000 grounded 90 percent of flights departing from Paris and caused widespread delays and cancellations throughout Europe.