ADVERTISEMENTTravellers in Europe this Easter weekend are being urged to check for delays or cancellations with strikes expected in several holiday hotspots.
This Easter weekend is expected to be especially busy with 11,282 flights scheduled to depart from UK airports alone, according to analytics firm Cirium.
Travellers are advised to check their flight and booking status regularly as negotiations are still ongoing in many cases, and strikes could be called off last minute.
UK: Gatwick airport workers to strike
The Unite union announced earlier this month that there would be strike action at Gatwick Airport - the UK's second busiest airport - starting on Good Friday 18 April and ending in the early hours of the morning on 22 April.
This includes baggage handlers, check-in staff and flight dispatchers for airlines including Norwegian, Delta, TAP and Air Peace. The union says it expects the industrial action to impact around 50 flights a day, with long queues and delays at check-in counters.
These strikes are set to go ahead after hundreds of workers "overwhelmingly rejected" a settlement offer from Red Handling, the company at the heart of the dispute. Unite says the industrial action is being taken over several issues, including unpaid pensions, late payments and “illegal” shift patterns.
The company has said it has contingency plans in place to support "safe and timely" travel over the Easter Weekend.
Spain: Hotel workers to walk out in Tenerife
A planned strike over pay by hotel industry workers will go ahead in the Canary Islands on 17 and 18 April.
The walkout was planned across the Canary Islands, but an agreement was reached to suspend the strike on the islands of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
The strike is still taking place on other islands, however, with around 80,000 hotel workers taking part on Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro.
Workers in Tenerife say that their employers have not been as willing to listen to their demands. The strike is now going ahead after the latest proposal from the employers' associations was rejected.
The Canary Islands Department of Tourism and Employment has set minimum service levels for the hospitality industry over the Easter Weekend. It would mean some basic services, such as reception and concierge or cleaning, restaurants and cooking, still have to go ahead even if a walkout happens.
The CCOO union, which called the strike, however, says these minimum service requirements infringe upon their right to strike.
"The imposition of minimum services constitutes an illegitimate, disproportionate, and legally unsustainable restriction on the fundamental right to strike," CCOO stated in a press release.
France: Train strike could be called with 48 hours notice
Members of the Sud Rail union have issued a six-week strike notice between 17 April and 2 June. Though no dates have been confirmed, a strike could take place with as little as 48 hours notice.
ADVERTISEMENTThis will only affect train controllers working for national operator SCNF, but could mean some services are delayed or cancelled during the action.