The Foreign Office has issued a stark warning to those planning travel to France in the upcoming weeks, due to expected disruptions. The advice on government’s website has been updated, indicating problems with air traffic control and strikes.
Further strikes are predicted to continue till September on some public transport systems. This announcement follows serious issues impacting airlines this week, including the unexpected collapse of a major holiday provider leading to entire July holidays being cancelled without warning.
Regarding France, the Foreign Office stated: “Throughout June, planned industrial action by port worker and air traffic control unions is expected to disrupt some ferry routes and flights across France, with some routes and flights diverted or cancelled.”
It also told travellers to “Check your operator’s advice before travelling, including where you are taking connecting flights. Until September, possible industrial action may cause disruption on the Paris public transport system (RATP). Check the RATP website for live service updates.”
The situation is set to worsen as Unite union revealed plans for 300 security and passenger services staff at Gatwick, a major UK airport, to strike for six days in July. These strikes will happen between 12th-14th of July and again on 19th-21st of July, reports the Express.
Last week, Youtravel announced that all bookings up to and including 26 July would be cancelled. The company described the decision to extend cancellations beyond 5 July as ‘difficult’, as discussions about its future continue.
Youtravel is a subsidiary of the German firm FTI Group, whose tour operator brand, FTI Touristik, declared insolvency earlier this month. As many UK travel agents utilise the group’s services, potentially thousands of holidaymakers could see their plans disrupted.
It was confirmed that all active bookings for arrivals up to and including 26 July would be cancelled without charge by Monday 1 July, leaving agents with packages for UK travellers who have accommodation booked via Youtravel only a few days to react.
In other news, Aer Lingus pilots staged an eight-hour walkout today in an ongoing dispute over pay with the airline. Prior to Saturday’s full strike, pilots had been participating in an indefinite work-to-rule industrial action that began on Wednesday.
So far, nearly 400 flights have been cancelled, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.
A lack of air traffic controllers has caused numerous cancellations and delays at UK airports in recent days. Ryanair and Wizz Air have been particularly affected by the chaos, with Ryanair confirming 60 flight cancellations and another 150 potential delays.
Neal McMahon, Chief Operations Officer at Ryanair, has hit out at air traffic control services, branding them as operating at their “worst levels ever”. He expressed: “These repeated ATC delays and cancellations are unacceptable. We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC flight delays and flight cancellations, which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair’s control.”
In the same vein, Wizz Air has voiced dismay, with a representative saying: “Wizz Air was prepared to ensure smooth summer operations for its passengers; however, the air traffic control system seems to be experiencing significant issues this summer.”