Strikes in Europe 2018

T' s the season to be - annoying to people who want to go on holiday, need to use public transport for business, have a ship in water, etc.

 

After a day's lock strike near Mainz - on the Main - and some public transport not running in Hesse, it had calmed down a bit. But the union has not given up yet. There are warning strikes announced for the week of 9th April which could affect airlines.

 

The neighbouring country of France is in a bit of railway turmoil - people are up in arms (just figuratively) about some changes and have announced strikes lasting weeks... Some international connections could be affected.

 

I am sure these will not be the only strikes we will see this year...

 

If you become aware of any that could affect happy river cruisers please let them know in this thread.

 

Hoping for the best for workers without causing too much trouble for the world around them...

 

notamermaid

Here are good articles on the train strikes in France (https://www.thelocal.fr/20180330/french-rail-strikes-here-are-the-37-days-to-avoid-travelling-by-train) and the Air France strikes planned for April 3 and April 7 (https://www.thelocal.fr/20180326/air-france-staff-announce-two-more-days-of-strike)

Neither getting old nor travel is for the meek or the inflexible. Strikes are a minor hindrance; I have survived the 2010 Icelandic volcano that shut down most European and TransAtlantic air traffic, 1997 General Strikes in Bolivia that stranded me for days above 14,000 feet, 1983 encounters with the Argentine Junta, the Peruvian President fleeing in 2000, Civil War in the Congo in 1997. I could go on but either treat it as part of your life adventure or stay home where it is possible that a meteorite will come through the ceiling and kill you while you are in your easy chair. Me, I’m traveling.

In 2015, the airline strikes affected local/European travel. The trans Atlantic flights were not affected. You could get to Europe but transfers after arrival.were problematic.

In 2015, the airline strikes affected local/European travel. The trans Atlantic flights were not affected. You could get to Europe but transfers after arrival.were problematic.

I have heard this many times both before11 Nov 2015 and after, but is not entirely true. LH 419 IAD-FRA on 11 Nov 2015 was cancelled due to a rolling work action. We were scheduled in Business (UA MP tickets) on that flight (with a connection in FRA to Johannesburg) and our first and only notification was when we couldn’t check in on 10 Nov. Back to UA who had zero Business but got us in Econ plus to FRA (no refund of miles) to make our connection. Back to on-line check-in to discover that on the 5 minutes since UA got us reservations LH had cancelled our flight out of FRA and was routing us through LHR the following day meaning we’d miss the start of our safari. Back to UA where after 3 more hours on the phone they finally were able to find seats (UA to ZA) for us through São Paulo. Travel is not always easy.

I am glad someone started this thread. I have read nearly everything I can and have not found a solution! I am booked on TFV Paris to Lyon in May on one of their strike days. What I am really worried about is that I won't understand what is going to happen and how to actually get to Lyon. I have been in Paris when the taxi's went on strike, we just walked a long way, but left early so had no issue catching our train. But when they say the railways on strike, if 1 out of 8 TGV's are running, that they will be overloaded doesn't it? Or does it mean I can do nothing until the day before, once in Paris when they know who will turn up to drive trains?

 

It appears the TGV site that now loads to QUI SNCF site, the contact is disabled, but I am not sure how to work through this as I am travelling alone on this trip and will probably be a nervous wreck in Paris! Do I double book, now? Lose the $$ for the hotel, and just rebook train and hotel on a non strike day?

 

Does anyone have a plan of action for this sort of thing?

Yggdrasil98,

 

just to understand this correctly, are you making your way to Lyon to board a ship on the same day, or the day after? If your train journey is directly connected with boarding a river cruise ship, have you thought of contacting the company? I gather you are flying independently, i.e. you have not booked through the river cruise company. Nevertheless they might have passengers they need to get from Paris to Lyon and might be willing to help you as well, with some info or even more.

 

This is the BBC's coverage: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43617033

 

The SNCF website lists the TGVs that will be running on the day, on the previous day at 5pm local time. The info says that you have to have a ticket for those trains to be allowed to board: https://www.sncf.com/fr/greve-nationale/circulation-des-trains-tres-perturbee-a-partir-du-mardi-3-avril Download where it says cliquez-ici.

 

Rebooking train and hotel on a non strike day sounds good if you can do that, better than hoping to have the "winning" ticket, i.e. your train runs. If it does not, you might not be able to rebook... Tough decision, perhaps a past cruiser can tell you what they did.

 

notamermaid

Not sure if such a site exists in English language, here is a good German one. Days are easy to figure out, of course, the rest I hope google translate will do satisfactorily.

 

http://www.streikradar.de/category/streik/

 

notamermaid

I am glad someone started this thread. I have read nearly everything I can and have not found a solution! I am booked on TFV Paris to Lyon in May on one of their strike days. What I am really worried about is that I won't understand what is going to happen and how to actually get to Lyon. I have been in Paris when the taxi's went on strike, we just walked a long way, but left early so had no issue catching our train. But when they say the railways on strike, if 1 out of 8 TGV's are running, that they will be overloaded doesn't it? Or does it mean I can do nothing until the day before, once in Paris when they know who will turn up to drive trains?

 

It appears the TGV site that now loads to QUI SNCF site, the contact is disabled, but I am not sure how to work through this as I am travelling alone on this trip and will probably be a nervous wreck in Paris! Do I double book, now? Lose the $$ for the hotel, and just rebook train and hotel on a non strike day?

 

Does anyone have a plan of action for this sort of thing?

 

We encountered this situation during the train strikes a few years ago. The night before we were supposed to take the TGV from Paris to Lyon, I went online and reserved a rental car. We ended up driving to Lyon and dropping the car at the train station in that city. Definitely not my first choice, but once we got out of Paris, it was a very easy drive.

Yggdrasil98,

 

This is the BBC's coverage: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43617033

 

The SNCF website lists the TGVs that will be running on the day, on the previous day at 5pm local time. The info says that you have to have a ticket for those trains to be allowed to board: https://www.sncf.com/fr/greve-nationale/circulation-des-trains-tres-perturbee-a-partir-du-mardi-3-avril Download where it says cliquez-ici.

 

Thank you for your replies.

 

Rebooking train and hotel on a non strike day sounds good if you can do that, better than hoping to have the "winning" ticket, i.e. your train runs. If it does not, you might not be able to rebook... Tough decision, perhaps a past cruiser can tell you what they did.

 

notamermaid

 

No, I am travelling independently so I am fortunate if have several days to play with. I guess what the worst sorry is (apart from the extra euro's - as I don't think my travel insurance will fork out for hotels cancelled at my request or at least due to a strike) I am concerned because of the crowds in the stations and not understanding where to go due to chaos. The photo's online are not good for settling one's anxiety!!

 

My train ran on the 3rd, but there is not way of knowing until 5pm the night before when it will run. I have bitten the euro bullet and made two more bookings for my hotels - which are flexible now, and another ticket 24 hours later on the train. I am fortunately I had a couple of days to play with though. I believe the Wednesday of my week Euro football/soccer is on in Lyon too! I hope others have time to play with, my husband helped calm my issues with wasted travel money :):):)

A word of caution for those considering rental cars. If that is your plan , make the reservation soon!

 

A few years back, when AF went on strike and essentially stopped flying intra France routes, the railroads quickly booked up. Soon, the rental car companies refused to do leases for drops in or around Paris. All these tourists were wanting to rent cars from all over France so to drive back to CDG and drop their cars. Rental companies couldn’t handle those logistics and wouldn’t do the rentals. I believe they put in place a 1000-1500 Euros fine for an illegal drop per the contract.

Thank you, Christ, for postin the article. Sounds like one should consider a horse-drawn cart as an alternative. But that aside a more realistic idea might be to rebook a flight if you do not need to be in Paris but just use it as an airport to get to Lyon, like Yggdrasil98. Zürich and Basel are both closer to Lyon and if you cannot get a train from either city a rental car is probably easier to come by than in "desperate" Paris. Perhaps an alternative for the odd passenger...

 

notamermaid

Apart from having to read French road signs and rules, and how manic the situation will make the roads, we drive on the opposite side to the US and France, I never even dream of hiring a car :)

 

I book my hotels direct or with Accor so I range their help line, and I bit the bullet and I have paid for an extra night in Paris, and have been able to switch some arrangements in Lyon, and I have a second TGV ticket a day later.

 

During my research my train ran on both days 3 and 4 April. But I felt I needed peace of mind, so I booked again. Now I have done this, of course I know my train WILL leave as intended! That's life, eh?

 

I hope everyone gets their arrangements sorted out okay. 3 months is sooo long to have these strikes, I pity the locals affected.

Strikes announced for the public sector in Germany

 

A minor inconvenience for travellers, you might not even encounter any problems, but here goes. This coming week there will be strikes in North Rhine-Westphalia affecting anything from public transport in Cologne to banks in Bonn, etc. There are talks of including Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn airport in the strike but it is all tentative if and when.

 

There are no locks on the Rhine (on the main waterway) in North Rhine-Westphalia, so no problems there.

 

notamermaid

Strikes at German airports:

 

https://www.streikradar.de/10-04-2018-streiks-an-den-flughaefen-muenchen-und-frankfurt/

 

links for infos at the bottom of the page.

 

In english: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-wages/german-public-sector-strikes-to-hit-air-travel-on-tuesday-idUSKBN1HG114

 

and

 

https://www.thelocal.de/20180409/lufthansa-cancels-800-flights-tuesday-in-german-airport-strikes

 

Local transport will be affected in many regions on 10 And 11 April. If you need to get from airport to ship or similar this could affect you if you take a train or bus.

 

notamermaid

Deutsche Welle website covering the Brussels Airlines strike: http://www.dw.com/en/brussels-airlines-grounding-hundreds-of-flights/a-43773684

 

 

I hope you cruisers out there will not be affected. If you are, just to remind people, do consider a high-speed train connection. In central Europe this might be more feasible than you think. I.e. your flight to Amsterdam has been cancelled but you can fly to Düsseldorf. Hardly a problem getting from Düsseldorf to Amsterdam by train. Etc.

 

 

notamermaid

Deutsche Welle website covering the Brussels Airlines strike: http://www.dw.com/en/brussels-airlines-grounding-hundreds-of-flights/a-43773684

 

 

I hope you cruisers out there will not be affected. If you are, just to remind people, do consider a high-speed train connection. In central Europe this might be more feasible than you think. I.e. your flight to Amsterdam has been cancelled but you can fly to Düsseldorf. Hardly a problem getting from Düsseldorf to Amsterdam by train. Etc.

 

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

Thanks notamermaid! I’m personally interested in this because we’re using Brussels Air to fly to Nice in July. 🤞Fingers crossed its settled by then.

 

 

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