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STRIKES

How German transport strikes will hit cross-border travel to Austria

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 Austria.

Published: 11 March 2024 13:29 CET
File photo shows Lufthansa aircraft.
File photo shows Lufthansa aircraft. 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.

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.

READ ALSO: What are your rights if your trip is delayed or cancelled in Austria?

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 Austria 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 get refunded. 

According to Frankfurt airport’s information page, at least one flight to Vienna, one from Vienna to Frankfurt and several flights to Salzburg scheduled on Tuesday have already been cancelled.

It was not possible on Monday to see which flights had 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 by 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 are disrupted, while 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. 

Austrian state rail operator ÖBB said it is working to put together solutions to cushion the impact on rail travel in Austria. 

In general, though, ÖBB advises people against travelling to Germany during strikes. The busy Vienna-Frankfurt route in particular is likely to be hit by several train cancellations. Night train services could also be disrupted. 

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

A statement from ÖBB said that due to the strike, “we therefore ask you to postpone non-urgent journeys to an earlier or later date”.

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

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.

Meanwhile, Austria has also seen strikes recently. On March 1st Austrian Airlines workers walked out due to a dispute over collective labour agreement negotiations, leading to the cancellation of more than 100 flights.

READ ALSO: Austrian Airlines staff to hold crunch meeting ahead of possible strike

Workers have been staging industrial action in many European countries over labour conditions and the rising cost of living in the wake of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. 

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The government is working on the assumption that the system will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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