# Europe Summer 2013 strikes, floods & unexpected problems



## flexible (Jul 8, 2013)

My husband is an eternal optimist. I consider myself optimistic too but it seem like the frequency and number of strikes affecting European travel has increased significantly. We plan to be in UK/Europe late July-September.

http://www.rivercruiseinfo.com/content/strike-germany-locks-are-blocked
So far this year just gets worse and worse. After the flood and the delays due to Altenwörth lock repairs, there are new problems coming. The german Ministry of Transportation has plans to lay off 3000 of its 15000 employees in the Waterways Navigation Department (WSV). That's why Verdi Union called them to go on strike from Monday (2013-07-08) on. This is not a warning strike (limited for a few hours or days), but an unlimited one.

http://www.rivercruiseinfo.com/content/high-water-situation-may-june-2013
Late May 2013-mid June 2013 - Dozens of European River Cruises cancelled, many more modified itineraries

http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?id=83728
Severe European air traffic strike planned 
Industrial action planned by European air traffic controllers tomorrow is expected to cause severe disruption to flights over Western Europe. Air traffice controllers in France, Italy, Greece, Portugal and Hungary are planning to strike from midnight Tuesday to midnight Wednesday.

http://www.euronews.com/2013/06/12/french-air-traffic-control-strike-2013-latest-news/
As air traffic controllers ended their strike on Thursday morning in France, rail workers started their own. Employees of the French railway network (SNCF) announced a walkout that is due to last until Friday, June 14, 08:00 CET. Rail traffic will be partially disrupted on the network during the strike, with only 40 percent of trains running on Thursday. It is expected that half of trains from France to Switzerland and one-third of the trains to Italy will operate as normal.
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http://www.euronews.com/tag/strike/
http://www.euronews.com/2013/06/26/eiffel-tower-shut-down-by-strike/ Eiffel Tower shut down by strike
http://www.euronews.com/2013/06/13/french-rail-strike-cancels-70-percent-of-journeys/ French Rail canceled 70%
http://www.euronews.com/2013/06/13/france-first-planes-and-now-trains-paralysed-by-strikes/
http://www.euronews.com/2013/06/11/european-skies-face-more-disruption/
http://www.euronews.com/2013/04/10/louvre-museum-closes-doors-as-guards-protest-over-pickpockets/ Louvre guards strike


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## x3 skier (Jul 8, 2013)

With the struggle between the Government and the Unions in France it is not going to get better. Personally, I would avoid France. 

The Air Controller uproar is caused by similar problems where the EU is trying to simplify Air Traffic Control so flights may or may not be affected depending on how the EU handles it. 

IMHO, to minimize strike related problems, Avoid France and intra Europe air travel. The rest of the stuff is just "normal", not including floods. 

Cheers


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## gnorth16 (Jul 10, 2013)

Strikes in France are an annual thing.  For some reason, a 32 hour work week is just way too much!!!!  As for cutting ATC jobs in France, they still have dozens of jobs that are un-staffed.  As with most countries ATC systems, there is still a shortage of qualified individuals, partially due to a lack of quality applicants who can succeed and due to places like Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Oman that attract people with significantly higher wages.


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