Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

Strikes and staff shortages: How travel in France will be affected this summer

With virtually all Covid restrictions now lifted, summer 2022 was supposed to be the year that travel and tourism rebounded - but staff shortages and strikes mean a possibly difficult season ahead in France.

Published: 13 June 2022 11:56 CEST
Updated: 26 June 2022 09:00 CEST
Strikes and staff shortages: How travel in France will be affected this summer
Strike action at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport. Photo by Geoffroy Van der Hasselt / AFP

The peak summer travel season is not yet underway, and yet still there have been reports of long queues at airports and stations and unions have warned of a worsening situation.

Here’s what we know about the months ahead:

Airlines

So far the worst of the disruption is definitely concentrated on air travel, with staff shortages and strikes the main problems.

Unions have warned that airports in France face a major shortage of personnel.This is a Europe-wide issue and so far France has seen fewer problems than some of its neighbours including the UK, Ireland, Germany and Sweden – where air passengers reported chaotic scenes at terminals and queues stretching out of the door.

ANALYSIS: Why France is facing a worker shortage this summer

However there have been reports of long waits – especially for long-haul flights – at both Paris airports and unions have warned of worse to come.

“It’s going to be a mess,” said Fabrice Michaud, secretary general of the CGT National Transport Federation. “We will experience the same difficulties already observed in London or Amsterdam.”

So far problems have largely concentrated on Paris with France’s regional airports less affected. Between them, Paris’ Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports are short of around 4,000 staff and training and security requirements mean that posts cannot be filled overnight. Airport bosses are reportedly offering bonuses to staff who postpone their own holidays until September, and further bonuses to anyone who gives the name of a potential new hire.

Passengers are advised to check carefully the arrival time that their airline recommends.

Added to the staff shortages is looming strike action.

Airport staff, including security staff, have already walked out at Charles de Gaulle airport – causing one quarter of departing flights to be cancelled – and larger strike action is planned for July.

Flight attendants employed by Ryanair at Toulouse, Marseille and Paris airports have called for an unlimited strike over the summer.

And France’s 550 pilots employed by Easyjet have this week written to the company CEO denouncing “unprecedented chaos” and saying staff were “duped” by bosses. No strike has been called, but it’s clear there is some unhappiness.

You can find all the latest news on planned industrial action in our strike section HERE.

Trains

Rail workers on the SNCF network have called a one-day strike on Wednesday, July 6th – the day before French schools break up. This will affect national and international rail services, but not city public transport such as the Paris Metro. 

Passengers on the Eurostar have reported long queues and chaotic scenes at both the London St Pancras and Paris Gare du Nord stations.

The problem appears to be a combination of staff shortages and the enhanced checks required since the end of the Brexit transition period. These have been in place since January 2021, but the pandemic meant that passenger numbers have been low since then. Anyone travelling by Eurostar is advised to turn up at the station with plenty of time to spare.

Trains are usually busy over the summer, especially on the ‘peak’ weekends (see below) so booking well in advance is recommended.

Ferries

Crossing from the UK or Ireland to France means there is the option to go by boat.

After a long hiatus P&O Ferries has restarted its Dover-Calais service, while Brittany Ferries and DFDS are also running regular services between France and the UK and Ireland.

No major problems have been reported on ferry routes so far, although passengers travelling between France and the UK are reminded of the extra restrictions in place since the end of the Brexit transition period, both for humans and pets.

Travel to France: What has changed since Brexit?

Car

If you’re planning a driving holiday in France it’s worth being aware of the ‘black weekends’.

These are the weekends when traffic forecaster Bison futé predicts extremely heavy traffic on the roads, which usually coincide with the beginning and end of the school holidays.

This year the worst days for traffic are predicted to be July 9/10, July 13-17, July 23/24, July 30/31, August 6/7 and August 13/14.

READ ALSO 8 things to know about driving in France this summer

Summer season

French schools break up for the summer on Thursday, July 7th so the following weekend is likely to be extremely busy as French families head off for the holidays.

The weekend of July 30/31 is also traditionally a busy one as juilletistes (July holidaymakers) return and the aoûtiens (August holidaymakers) set off. French children restart school on Thursday, September 1st, and all travel is likely to be quieter once September begins.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

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

As European travellers prepare for the introduction of enhanced passport checks known as the Entry & Exit System (EES), many readers have asked us what this means for the '90-day rule' for non-EU citizens.

Published: 1 May 2024 07:18 CEST
Reader question: How do the EU's new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

From the start date to the situation for dual nationals and non-EU residents living in the EU, it’s fair to say that readers of The Local have a lot of questions about the EU’s new biometric passport check system known as EES.

You can find our full Q&A on how the new system will work HERE, or leave us your questions HERE.

And one of the most commonly-asked questions was what the new system changes with regards to the 90-day rule – the rule that allows citizens of certain non-EU countries (including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) to spend up to 90 days in every 180 in the EU without needing a visa.

And the short answer is – nothing. The key thing to remember about EES is that it doesn’t actually change any rules on immigration, visas etc.

Therefore the 90-day rule continues as it is – but what EES does change is the enforcement of the rule.

90 days 

The 90-day rule applies to citizens of a select group of non-EU countries;

Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Macau, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela.

Citizens of these countries can spend up to 90 days in every 180 within the EU or Schengen zone without needing a visa or residency permit.

People who are citizens of neither the EU/Schengen zone nor the above listed countries need a visa even for short trips into the EU – eg an Indian or Chinese tourist coming for a two-week holiday would require a visa. 

In total, beneficiaries of the 90-day rule can spend up to six months in the EU, but not all in one go. They must limit their visits so that in any 180-day (six month) period they have spent less than 90 days (three months) in the Bloc.

READ ALSO How does the 90-day rule work?

The 90 days are calculated according to a rolling calendar so that at any point in the year you must be able to count backwards to the last 180 days, and show that you have spent less than 90 of them in the EU/Schengen zone.

You can find full details on how to count your days HERE.

If you wish to spend more than 90 days at a time you will have to leave the EU and apply for a visa for a longer stay. Applications must be done from your home country, or via the consulate of your home country if you are living abroad.

Under EES 90-day rule beneficiaries will still be able to travel visa free (although ETIAS will introduce extra changes, more on that below).

EES does not change either the rule or how the days are calculated, but what it does change is the enforcement.

Enforcement

One of the stated aims of the new system is to tighten up enforcement of ‘over-stayers’ – that is people who have either overstayed the time allowed on their visa or over-stayed their visa-free 90 day period.

At present border officials keep track of your time within the Bloc via manually stamping passports with the date of each entry and exit to the Bloc. These stamps can then be examined and the days counted up to ensure that you have not over-stayed.

The system works up to a point – stamps are frequently not checked, sometimes border guards incorrectly stamp a passport or forget to stamp it as you leave the EU, and the stamps themselves are not always easy to read.

What EES does is computerise this, so that each time your passport is scanned as you enter or leave the EU/Schengen zone, the number of days you have spent in the Bloc is automatically tallied – and over-stayers will be flagged.

For people who stick to the limits the system should – if it works correctly – actually be better, as it will replace the sometimes haphazard manual stamping system.

But it will make it virtually impossible to over-stay your 90-day limit without being detected.

The penalties for overstaying remain as they are now – a fine, a warning or a ban on re-entering the EU for a specified period. The penalties are at the discretion of each EU member state and will vary depending on your personal circumstances (eg how long you over-stayed for and whether you were working or claiming benefits during that time).

ETIAS 

It’s worth mentioning ETIAS at this point, even though it is a completely separate system to EES, because it will have a bigger impact on travel for many people.

ETIAS is a different EU rule change, due to be introduced some time after EES has gone live (probably in 2025, but the timetable for ETIAS is still somewhat unclear).

It will have a big impact on beneficiaries of the 90-day rule, effectively ending the days of paperwork-free travel for them.

Under ETIAS, beneficiaries of the 90-rule will need to apply online for a visa waiver before they travel. Technically this is a visa waiver rather than a visa, but it still spells the end of an era when 90-day beneficiaries can travel without doing any kind of immigration paperwork.

If you have travelled to the US in recent years you will find the ETIAS system very similar to the ESTA visa waiver – you apply online in advance, fill in a form and answer some questions and are sent your visa waiver within a couple of days.

ETIAS will cost €7 (with an exemption for under 18s and over 70s) and will last for three years.

Find full details HERE. 

SHOW COMMENTS