Planning to visit or travel within France this November and December?

Be warned that this is expected to be the season of the strike, as several of France’s largest unions, including transport workers and farmers, plan to take industrial action.

All four of France’s major rail unions have joined together for an initial one-day action on Thursday 21 November. This collective strike day is expected to cause significant disruption, and it could even extend to the Christmas holidays and beyond.

Earlier this week, the unions highlighted that if the French government does not meet their demands, they will go on what’s being called a longer and stronger strike (‘un mouvement de grève plus long et plus fort’) from 11 December.

The timing is no coincidence: December is the busiest time for the country’s railways.

Why are there strikes in France?

Unions are concerned about the increasing privatisation of the French state rail company SNCF, the regional train network ‘Transport Express Régional’ (TER), the commuter rail network Transilien and the non-high-speed services Intercité.

In fact, the SNCF has been state-owned since it was founded in the late 1930s, but unions are aggrieved that, since 2019, the French rail network has been open to other potential players so that the national company no longer has a monopoly.

For example, rail companies such as the Spanish state-owned Renfe and the partially Italian state-owned Trenitalia now run some of the Paris services.

France is not the only European country opening up its state railways: this is part of a wider EU initiative to improve the network and encourage more people to choose rail over car or plane travel.

France strikes: How will flights be affected?

You might expect some delays at the airports too, as France’s National Union of Airline Pilots, the SNPL, have issued a strike for 14 November.

This action is likely to affect the national airline Air France and other carriers that employ pilots on French labour contracts.

While the SNPL has only warned of a one-day action, it is possible that this, too, could be extended.

This strike has come about because pilots are unhappy about the French government’s scheme to raise flight taxes by 300 per cent, which they say is being introduced without consulting the aviation industry.

Known as the solidarity tax, right now, passengers pay just under €3 to fly in economy class or €18 in first class, which is added directly onto the cost of their ticket.

But if the tax increase goes ahead, the price could rise to €9.50 when flying economy to a destination in Europe and as much as €120 for a business class ticket from Paris to New York.

France hopes to raise an additional billion euros each year from the aviation sector to cover gaps in the country’s 2025 budget.

Protests and strikes have long been engrained in French culture

Alongside these travel strikes, farmers will also be protesting, which will likely include road blockages that target Spanish and other EU truckers delivering produce.

Likewise, three days of action by two unions representing civil servants are expected to take place in early December. Specific dates have not yet been announced.

When it comes to the sheer breadth of strike action each year, France tends to be at the top of most European countries. However, 2024 has been relatively peaceful compared with previous years until this month.

France has been known for its so-called ‘orderly disorder’ since the 1789 Revolution, which was fuelled by starvation.

Striking was legalised in 1864 and has always been seen as a last resort for demanding better living conditions, but in recent years, it’s become an easy way for groups to make themselves heard against the centralised state government.

French strikes are typically led by well-disciplined unions that can quickly mobilise with specific demands and aims. In turn, this has increased participation, and strikes are nowadays celebrated as a symbol of social victory.

A volcano on a remote Indonesian island continues to spew towering columns of hot ash into the air, making it too dangerous for flights to land or depart from Bali’s international airport.

Travellers have been stranded at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport since flight cancellations began at the weekend.

“The airline did not provide accommodation, leaving us stranded at this airport,” said Charlie Austin from Perth, Australia, who was on vacation in Bali with his family.

It is unclear when the ash cloud will clear and allow the airport to resume normal operations.

Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano on the island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province has been shooting hot ash high into the air since it first erupted on 4 November, killing ten people so far and injuring dozens of others.

The 1,584-meter volcano shot up ash at least 17 times on Tuesday, with the largest column recorded at 9 kilometres high, the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said in a statement.

Bali flights: Are all departures and arrivals cancelled?

I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport’s website currently shows most international departures for today (Wednesday) as either cancelled or delayed, while a few flights, to destinations such as Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur, do appear to be taking off as scheduled.

The advice to passengers is to contact your airline or check their website or social media channels before leaving for the airport.

Sicne the weekend, 84 flights, including 36 scheduled to depart and 48 due to arrive, were cancelled or delayed.

Airport authorities said that at least 26 domestic flights and 64 overseas ones were cancelled on Wednesday alone, including airlines from Singapore, Hong Kong, Qatar, India and Malaysia. For these cancellations, the airlines were offering travellers a refund, or to reschedule or reroute.

Air New Zealand cancelled a flight to Denpasar scheduled for Wednesday and a return service to Auckland due to depart Bali on Thursday. Passengers would be rebooked and the airline would continue to monitor the movement of ash in the coming days, Chief Operating Officer Alex Marren said.

Jetstar Bali flights: Australian airlines worst hit by cancellations

Australian airlines use Bali’s international airport more than any others, since Bali is a very popular holiday destination with Australians.

Budget airline Jetstar has paused its flights to Bali until at least Thursday, it said on its website, saying it was “currently not safe” to operate the route.

They say they understand that some passengers may no longer wish to fly to Bali, in which case anyone with flights booked between 13 and 17 November have the option to postpone their flight by three weeks or get credit to use with the airline. For full details on your options, check their website.

Jetstar’s statement went on to say:

“We understand that this is a difficult situation for impacted customers. Safety is always our number one priority and we thank customers for their patience and understanding.

Impacted customers will be notified directly and will be provided with a range of options.

Capacity on our existing scheduled services is limited and we understand that some customers may be concerned about how quickly they can rebook their flights.

We continue to monitor the situation closely and are planning to add extra flights to get customers to their destination as soon as possible.

We will provide an update on flights scheduled to operate after 12noon AEDT on Thursday.”

Virgin Australia’s website showed 10 services to and from Bali were cancelled on Wednesday. Qantas said it has delayed three flights. Some airlines are offering fare refunds for upcoming Bali flights to passengers who don’t want to travel.

Are passengers on Bali flights entitled to a refund or compensation?

Rules vary by country or region but EU airlines have to offer a refund or new flight if they cancel your flight. However if the cancellation is due to weather-related events, they sometimes claim this is an “act of God” to get out of paying passengers.

However for this volcano affecting Bali, some airlines have already said they will cover refunds or offer new flights so the chances are quite good.

Travel insurance is designed to cover unforeseen events, such as emergency medical expenses, lost or stolen belongings and last-minute cancellations.

In some cases, you can be reimbursed if your trip is cancelled due to extreme weather – but certain conditions usually apply.

Check your policy for a list of covered reasons for trip cancellation, as these vary by provider. Some may provide add-ons for weather-related circumstances.

Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano: 9 kilometre high ash cloud

Authorities on Tuesday expanded the exclusion zone as the volcano erupted again to 9 kilometres high. Volcanic materials, including smoldering rocks, lava, and hot, thumb-size fragments of gravel and ash, have been thrown up to 8 kilometres from the crater since Friday.

About 6,500 people were evacuated in January after Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki began erupting, spewing thick clouds and forcing the government to close the island’s Fransiskus Xaverius Seda Airport. No casualties or major damage were reported, but the airport has remained closed because of seismic activity.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in the East Flores district of East Nusa Tenggara province, known locally as the husband-and-wife mountains. ‘Laki laki’ means man, while its mate is Lewotobi Perempuan, or woman. It’s one of the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of 280 million people.

The country is prone to earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity because it sits along the ‘Ring of Fire’, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

Have you ever travelled by train to visit several European destinations in one interrailing adventure and wished there was a simpler way to cross borders?

Right now, you probably have to have your wits about you as you navigate through a myriad of booking platforms and work out the different ways in which rail providers sell their seats and arrange their schedules.

But it’s not only the inconvenience of booking that’s the issue with the current system.

If you’re committed to more sustainable travel options or simply enjoy the more leisurely experience offered by train travel, then you tend to pay a lot more money than opting to fly between destinations on a budget airline.

The good news is that this could change in the next two years, with the launch of a single European booking system for train tickets.

What this means is that you could travel to multiple destinations on just one ticket with your full travel schedule clearly mapped out.

This new hassle-free experience probably won’t interest you if you have an adventurous spirit and like to regale your friends with stories of missing departures and negotiating cultural differences at the railway station.

But if you’re on a budget or have a time limit on your trip, and you can’t afford to miss connections or pay for new tickets out of pocket, then the new single-ticket system will definitely appeal to you.

How will the new single European booking system work?

Right now, most travellers rely on experts such as Mark Smith, the brains behind Seat61.com, one of the earliest websites offering tips and solutions to the frustrations of travelling across Europe by train.

While it’s early days, a few platforms are already in place that could inspire this new booking system.

For example, Rail Europe and Omio already offer train trips across international borders, yet they still sell each part of the journey on separate tickets.

This new single-ticket proposal is just one of several made by the new EU transport commissioner, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, who is focused on promoting sustainable transport and decarbonisation solutions.

“It is unbelievable that we do not have this in 2024,” says Tzitzikostas, who adds that it would make booking trains as easy as booking a flight.

Tzitzikostas has also proposed ambitious plans for a European high-speed rail network that will better connect Europe’s capitals, including using night trains.

His goal is that by coupling green and digital innovations, travelling through Europe will “remain safe, accessible and affordable”.

As Euronews Travel has previously reported, European sleeper trains are undergoing a renaissance.

More exciting routes are being added, including one that allows you to have dinner in Brussels and wake up in Venice early enough to still catch the bustling morning ‘Mercati di Rialto’ (Rialto market).

The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), which represents over 70 railway companies and national associations across Europe, was one of the first supporters of the proposed scheme. It says, “This recognition that digitalisation is essential to help modernise the transport system is vital.”

The new pan-European train booking system is due to launch at some point in 2025.