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STRIKES

How German rail and air travel strikes will hit cross-border travel to Switzerland

German train drivers and Lufthansa cabin crew members are set to walk out in strikes this week. Here's how it could affect your travel plans to or from Switzerland.

Published: 11 March 2024 13:29 CET
File photo shows Lufthansa aircraft.
File photo shows Lufthansa aircraft. Photo: Image by Norbert from Pixabay

Not a week has gone by without a strike or two being called in Germany recently. And there’s more misery ahead for passengers as rail and air travel is to be impacted in simultaneous industrial action this week. 

The German GDL Train Drivers’ Union said its latest members’ strike affecting passenger rail services would start at 2am on Tuesday March 12th and last until 2am on Wednesday, March 13th.

For cargo services the strike is set to start a few hours earlier, the union said in a statement.

It comes after a 35-hour train drivers’ strike in Germany last week which paralysed the network on Thursday and part of Friday. It is the union’s sixth walkout since November in the dispute for more pay and fewer working hours. 

The GDL union blamed the latest strike on deadlocked talks with rail operator Deutsche Bahn.

Adding to the chaos, Lufthansa cabin crew are set to walk off the job at Frankfurt airport on Tuesday March 12th, and at Munich airport on Wednesday March 13th in a strike called by the UFO trade union.

The German airline group was already hit by a two-day strike by ground staff last week as the Verdi union demanded higher pay for its members. This action affected hundreds of thousands of passengers. 

How will the latest strike affect air travellers?

If you have a flight booked with Lufthansa to or from Switzerland during the strike, you may be affected. 

You might have already received a message from the airline operator telling you about the strike and the next steps to rebook or to get refunded. 

According to Frankfurt airport’s information page, some flights to Geneva, Basel and Zurich scheduled on Tuesday have already been cancelled, with return flights also affected. 

It was not possible on Monday to see which flights have been cancelled to and from Munich on Wednesday.  

How will the strike affect train passengers?

As you would expect, people in Germany are going to be hit the hardest in the strike affecting passenger services from the early hours of Tuesday until 2am Wednesday.

Although an emergency timetable is usually put in place, around 80 percent of rail services nationwide have been cancelled in previous train drivers’ strikes. 

Long-distance trains and regional transport is disrupted, although the availability of regional services varies between different areas. 

But it’s not only domestic German travel affected – international long-distance services are usually hit too. In previous strikes, four out of five Deutsche Bahn long distance and international trains have been cancelled. 

SBB Deutschland, which operates services in Germany and the cantons of Basel-City and Schaffhausen in Switzerland, said: “The train drivers of SBB Deutschland themselves are not on strike. Nevertheless, operations depend on the dispatchers and other professional groups of the infrastructure operator DB Netz AG as well as their tracks and systems. If they stop working, our trains will also come to a standstill.”

SBB Deutschland said they hope services can run according to the regular timetable but pointed out that special services the operator ran between Freiburg and Basel during previous strikes “cannot be offered due to the short notice”.

Rail operators have urged people to check the status of their connections in advance and if affected to travel on a different date.

You can check strike developments on the SBB’s website here and the Deutsche Bahn website here.

READ ALSO: Why Switzerland beats Germany for reliable trains

What are the strikes about?

As well as salary increases, the GDL Train Drivers’ Union’s key demand is a reduced work week of 35 hours, down from 38 currently, at full pay.

The UFO union is fighting for wage increases for Lufthansa cabin crew members amid rising inflation, and maintains that the offers from management so far are not good enough.

Although Switzerland is used to strong industrial action talking place in neighbouring countries – notably France as well as Germany, the Swiss generally do not have a striking culture.

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For members

TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The EU's new Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport controls is due to come into force later this year, but among many questions that remain is the situation for non-EU nationals who live in the EU or Schengen zone.

Published: 27 April 2024 07:59 CEST
Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

Currently scheduled to start in autumn 2024 (unless it’s delayed again, which is not unlikely) the EU’s new Entry & Exit System is basically an enhanced passport check at external EU borders, including a facial scan and fingerprinting.

You can find a full explanation of the new system HERE.

Travellers crossing an external EU or Schengen border for the first time will be required to complete EES ‘pre-registration’ formalities including that facial scan and fingerprinting.

There are, however, several groups exempt from EES and one of them is non-EU nationals who have a residency permit or long-stay visa for an EU country.

So if you’re a foreigner living in the EU or Schengen zone, here’s what you need to know.

Exempt

One of the stated aims of EES is to tighten up enforcement of over-staying – IE, people who stay longer than 90 days in every 180 without a visa, or those who overstay the limits of their visa.

Obviously these limits do not apply to non-EU nationals who are resident in the EU or Schengen zone, which is why this group is exempt from EES checks. They will instead be required to show their passport and residency permit/visa when crossing a border, just as they do now.

In its explanations of how EES will work, the European Commission is clear – exempt groups include non-EU residents of the Bloc.

A Commission spokesman told The Local: “Non-EU citizens residing in the EU are not in the scope of the EES and will not be subject to pre-enrollment of data in the EES via self-service systems. The use of automation remains under the responsibility of the Member States and its availability in border crossing points is not mandatory.

“When crossing the borders, holders of EU residence permits should be able to present to the border authorities their valid travel documents and residence permits.”

How this will work

How this will work on the ground, however, is a lot less clear.

Most ports/airports/terminals have two passport queues – EU and non-EU. It remains unclear whether the non-EU queue will have a separate section for those who are exempt from EES.

It does seem clear that exempt groups will not be able to use the automated passport scanners – since those cannot scan additional documents like residency permits – but should instead use manned passport booths. However it is not clear whether these will be available at all airports/ports/terminals or how non-EU residents of the EU will be directed to those services.

There’s also the issue that individual border guards are not always clear on the processes and rules for non-EU residents of the EU – even under the current system it’s relatively commonly for EU residents to have their passports incorrectly stamped or be given incorrect information about passport stamping by border guards.

Brits in particular will remember the immediate post-Brexit period when the processes as described by the EU and national authorities frequently did not match what was happening on the ground.

The Local will continue to try and get answers on these questions. 

READ ALSO What will EES mean for dual nationals

What if I live in the EU but I don’t have a visa/residency permit?

For most non-EU citizens, having either a visa or a residency permit is obligatory in order to be legally resident.

However, there is one exception: UK citizens who were legally resident in the EU prior to the end of the Brexit transition period and who live in one of the “declaratory” countries where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory. Declaratory countries include Germany and Italy.

Although it is legal for people in this situation to live in those countries without a residency permit, authorities already advise people to get one in order to avoid confusion/hassle/delays at the border. Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a residency card than it is now.

Our advice? Things are going to be chaotic enough, getting a residency permit seems likely to save you a considerable amount of hassle.

Delays 

Although residents of the EU do not need to complete EES formalities, they will be affected if the new system causes long queues or delays at the border.

Several countries have expressed worries about this, with the UK-France border a particular cause for concern.

READ ALSO Travellers could face ’14 hours queues’ at UK-France border

Where does it apply?

EES is about external EU/Schengen borders, so does not apply if you are travelling within the Schengen zone – eg taking the train from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.

Ireland and Cyprus, despite being in the EU, are not in the Schengen zone so will not be using EES, they will continue to stamp passports manually.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – countries that are in the Schengen zone but not in the EU – will be using EES.

The full list of countries using EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Therefore a journey between any of the countries listed above will not be covered by EES.

However a journey in or out of any of those countries from a country not listed above will be covered by EES.

You can find our full Q&A on EES HERE.

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