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

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.

Italy: Milan faces public transport strike

Milan will face disruption on 22 March as the city's public transport workers stage a 24-hour strike affecting the metro, buses and trams.

Strikes to hit Italian airports

Passengers travelling through Verona’s Villafranca airport on 23 March may face disruption as air traffic controllers go on strike.

The walkout, which will last from 10am until 6pm, coincides with a strike by Air Dolomiti cabin staff that is likely to disrupt flights between Italy and Germany.

Train strikes in Italy in March

Italy’s state-owned railway company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) will be hit by strikes on 23-24 March, causing disruption on local, regional and long distance trains.

The walkout will begin in the evening of 23 March and last for 24 hours. Trenitalia and Trenord will be severely affected but will run a guaranteed minimal timetable.

UK: 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.

UK Border Force strikes threatened over Easter

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

PCS union members are being balloted on strike action in a dispute over working hours and conditions. The outcome of the ballot is expected on 22 March, with potential strikes taking place no earlier than 5 April.

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

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Germany: Train strikes pause as talks resume

After walking out on 12 March, Germany’s GDL union, which represents many of Germany's train drivers, has resumed talks with national rail operator Deutsche Bahn.

This has put a temporary strop to the ongoing train strikes in Germany.

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.

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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