France Transportation Strikes December 5, 2019

Travelers to/from/through/within France may face severe difficulties starting on December 5, 2019, when many unions will begin their strike activity, some of which are open-ended.

Air France union representing ground crew are expected to strike on that day. Rail workers will begin their open-ended strike on that date as well, which will make it difficult to travel around France using trains including to/from airports.

You can access Air France here.

Unions are striking to protest pension reform that the government is trying to push through.

Readers that are scheduled to travel on Air France in early December should monitor their itineraries for any changes. I would assume that Air France will soon release their voluntarily rebooking guidelines trying to move passengers to travel before or after the potential strike date(s).

Travel to or from airports can be a challenge as well, and you can expect severe road congestion due to train option being not available. It would be a good idea to have accommodation close to the airport in case of long transits.

Conclusion

A reader dropped us a note that we should alert our readership about potential trave, disruption in France this December.

It is unclear how severely these actions will affect Air France. I would assume that operating flights without any ground crews present is rather challenging. Let’s hope that unions will find a resolution for their grievances and that Air France would soon release their rebooking options for passengers.

Remember that Air France is required by law, EC 261/2004, to rebook affected passengers to their final destination at the earliest convenience, passengers, not the airlines, even if this means moving them to carriers such as Emirates, British Airways, and Lufthansa.

Air France is also required to provide the duty to care (accommodation, meal vouchers, and phone cards) in case of long delays.