Aishwarya misses her first Cannes appearance this year

Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan may have left for Cannes on time but her scheduled first appearance at the French film festival has been delayed unfortunately.

While she was set to walk the red carpet at the Festival de Cannes today, the schedule had to be cancelled due to the air traffic control strike in France.

The 40-year-old mother will now walk the red carpet on an alternate day after her flight from London to Nice was delayed.

The former Miss World is a regular at Cannes, thanks to her stint as L'Oreal Paris ambassador, and has been attending the ceremony on behalf of the brand for 13

years.

The team is making arrangements for Aishwarya's walk on the red carpet on some other day.

"Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is truly a global icon for L'Oreal Paris and while the delay has been unfortunate, we are making sure that Aishwarya attends the event on an alternate date and we are sure she will dazzle as always," Manashi Guha, General Manager L'Oreal Paris India, said in a statement.

The other Bollywood celebrity and L'Oreal brand ambassador to attend 67th Cannes Film Festival is Sonam Kapoor.

Actress Mallika Sherawat walked the red carpet yesterday in a blue Emilio Pucci gown. 

Image: Aishwarya Rai with daughter Aaradhya Bachchan. Photograph: Pradeep Bandekar