Europe's Travel Strikes: Flight And Train Disruption You Can Expect In March And April

Our guide is updated as soon as a new European strike is announced.

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Strikes are a regular occurrence in Europe, as employees withhold their labour to fight for better pay and conditions.

Walkouts are sometimes planned months ahead but others are announced last minute, showing that it always pays to check before you travel.

Luckily, we have gathered all of the strike information together below.

Read on to find out where and when are walkouts taking place.

If your flight or train is cancelled or delayed, you will be entitled to a new ticket or compensation. Read our guide for the full details.

Spain: multiple airport strikes affect Easter travel

Palma airport in Majorca is facing disruption from industrial action, which is set to continue over Easter weekend until Easter Sunday, 31 March. The strike is by workers who carry out security screening and affects outbound flights.

Valencia airport is facing a daily lunchtime strike from 28 March to 1 April.

UK: Border Force strikes will land over Easter holidays

The end of the Easter holidays will be marred by travel chaos in the UK as Border Force workers vote to walk out.

PCS union members voted overwhelmingly in favour of on strike action in a dispute over working hours and conditions. No date has yet been set, but the strikes could take place as soon as 8 April, the union says.

The walkouts could cause long queues and delays at London's Heathrow Airport.

Meanwhile Scandinavian Airlines grounded a significant portion of its Heathrow fleet.

Train strikes in April and May

Rail workers in the UK are planning a series of one-day strikes in April over pay.

On Friday 5 April, train drivers at Avanti West Coast, East Midlands railway, West Midlands Trains and CrossCountry will walk out. They'll be followed by Chiltern, GWR, LNER, Northern and TransPennine trains on Saturday 6 April.

On Monday 8 April, drivers at c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express and South Western will strike.

An overtime ban from 4-6 and 8-9 April could cause further disruption.

London Tube drivers will also go on strike on Monday 8 April and Saturday 4 May causing chaos in the capital.

France: Seven-month strike notice could hit Paris Olympics

Disruption is expected on the Ile-de-France bus and metro network as CGT-RATP has announced a seven-month strike notice from 5 February to 9 September.

Workers at the state-owned public transport company say they are walking out over pay. Strikes could hit during the Paris 2024 Olympics if a deal is not reached.

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Germany: Threat of train strikes ends

On 25 March, Deutsche Bahn reached an agreement with Germany’s GDL train drivers' union, bringing an end to five months of negotiations and strikes. 

The deal means that GDL will abstain from strikes until at least February 2026.

If you know of a big strike happening in your country that we have missed, we'd love to hear from you via Twitter.

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