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: Nationwide train, tram and plane strikes

Airline, rail and public transport services are expected to be disrupted across Italy due to a planned 24-hour general strike on 13 December.

Ferry services to Sicily and Sardinia and motorway toll booth services may also be affected by delays and cancellations.

The strike, organised by the union USB (Unione Sindacale di Base), is in protest against the government’s economic policies, which union leaders say ‘increase social inequalities’ and ‘discourage deindustrialisation.’

Italy’s major airports will also be impacted by a 24-hour strike of TechnoSky air navigation service staff and a shorter strike by air traffic controllers on 15 December.

These protests are backed by several of Italy’s leading transport unions.

Commuters in Italy’s cities can also expect delays and cancellations due to a four-hour national public transport strike on 10 January, which the FAISA-CONFAIL union has called.

While affected services will vary between cities, a walkout by public transport operators is likely to impact buses, trams, commuter trains, water buses and ferries, and underground metro lines. Long-distance rail service and taxis are not expected to be affected.

Similarly, train services in Florence’s metropolitan areas will be affected by delays and cancellations, and long-distance rail services could also be disrupted on 12 January.

This is due to a walkout by staff at the railway network manager Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI).

Commuters in Florence may also be affected by tram delays and cancellations on 25 January because of a 24-hour protest by staff at Gest, which operates the trams.

The advice to passengers is to check your transport will be running as scheduled before leaving home.

France: Trains and ports could be disrupted over Christmas

Several planned strikes will affect train travellers from 11 December onwards. The end date has not been fixed, so it’s likely to go on until Christmas.

Both high-speed TGV and international routes – as well as regional TER services – are likely to be impacted.

Railway workers from the country’s four major railway unions are protesting over the French state rail company SNCF’s increasing privatisation of regional railway routes.

While rail timetables are expected to show services affected by the action 48 hours in advance, it’s worth checking on the day you are planning to travel.

Read more about the travel strikes in France in December.

While expected to cause only minimum disruption to passenger services, ports will be impacted by dockworkers striking on 9 and 10 December.

This protest is being organised by the CGT (general confederation of labour) union, which is demanding better pay and retirement plans for workers and for several ports to address ongoing asbestos issues.

France: easyJet workers file indefinite strike notice

French staff at budget airline easyJet filed an indefinite strike notice in protest over the company’s plan to close its Toulouse hub. The strike first began in September and runs until 16 December.

Exact dates for walk outs are yet to be announced, but more strike action could hit easyJet operations across the country in the coming weeks.

Across Europe: Finnair flights affected

Finnair has cancelled 300 flights on 9 December and 13 December, which will affect around 33,000 air passengers due to a strike called by the Finnish Air Line Pilots Association. The airline warns that this may also impact flights on either side of these two strike days.

Spain: Nationwide bus strikes

A nationwide bus strike that began in late November is expected to continue in December, causing significant disruption to local and long-distance bus services.

This strike will especially impact regional services in Murcia and Andalusia. This strike has been organised by the Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT) union to demand better working conditions for drivers and the option to retire early without financial penalty.

This article will be updated as we receive more information.

If you know of a big strike happening in your country that we have missed, we’d love to hear from you via Twitter.

There has been growing discontent in European destinations around the proliferation of Airbnb properties and the disruption this brings to neighbourhoods.

Earlier this year, residents of cities including Rome, Florence and Milan sabotaged key lock boxes in protest against the rental property phenomenon and its tendency to drive up housing prices.

Now, the Italian government has brought in a ban on the self-check-in system citing “public order and safety risks”.

This means guests staying in rental accommodation in Italy, like Airbnb or Booking properties, must now be met in person on arrival by the owners.

Italy bans key boxes for holiday rental properties

The ban on key boxes and keypads was signed off on 18 November and was effective immediately.

However, police and local authorities have only just begun notifying rental platforms and property owners, according to Italian media.

The rule applies to all types of short-term tourist accommodation such as Airbnb and Booking rentals.

The measure was introduced to “prevent public order and safety risks in relation to the possible accommodation of dangerous individuals or those linked to criminal or terrorist organisations”, the Italian interior ministry said.

“The automated management of check-in and entry to a property without visual identification of guests” means there is a risk it “could be occupied by one or more individuals whose identities remain unknown to the relevant police authorities posing a potential danger to the community,” the statement added.

The ministry said the ban was introduced in response to the “intensification of the phenomenon of short-term rentals” resulting from “the numerous political, cultural and religious events scheduled in the country”, including the 2025 Jubilee celebrations in Rome.

What does the ban mean for travellers?

The new ruling means guests can no longer check in to properties independently, such as being provided with a key code to open a lock box.

Instead, rental owners or managers will need to meet guests in person to confirm identity documents and handle the check-in procedures.

Guests’ personal details and identity documents must be sent to police authorities by owners within 24 hours of check-in.

Roberto Gaultieri, the mayor of Rome, praised the ban as “good news for everyone” and welcomed the end of “the padlocks and boxes that disfigure our streets and prevent adequate security checks”.

He added that he intends to bring in “suitable intervention methods” to remove all these kinds of devices.

Every passenger entering Mexico by cruise ship may soon be charged a $42 tax (€39.90)  – whether they disembark or not.

The law is the latest effort to curb overtourism in the country. Historically, Mexico’s tourist taxes have targeted hotel visitors, while cruise ship travellers who are deemed ‘in transit’ have been exempt.

Announced after a vote by Mexico’s congress, two-thirds of Mexico’s proposed cruise passenger tax would be used to fund the Mexican army.

The law, which would apply from 2026, still needs to be approved by the upper house. However, the tax, which is being called an ‘immigration document payment for foreign passengers,’ is expected to help cover the country’s enormous budget deficit.

Who will be affected by the new cruise passenger tax in Mexico?

The Mexican ports of Cozumel, Costa Maya and Cabo San Lucas are popular stops for Caribbean cruises, particularly for ships departing from Florida, Texas, and Los Angeles.

The fee is likely to be added to passengers’ total cruise ticket cost rather than absorbed by cruise companies.

Over 10 million passengers visit Mexico by cruise ship every year, with 3,300 cruise ship arrivals predicted for 2025, according to the Florida and Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA).

The port of Cozumel receives more than half of all Mexico’s seafaring passengers and is dubbed the ‘cruise capital of the world’: It welcomes around four million cruise passengers per year, making it one of the world’s busiest ports.

Some Mexican states, such as the Quintana Roo ports, will already start charging cruise passengers a $5 (€4.75) tax from 1 January 2025 to fund a National Disaster Prevention Fund. Therefore, under the new law, cruise passengers in this region would need to pay a total tax of $47 (€44.69).

While most travel passenger taxes go directly to improving infrastructure, such as port facilities or implementing more sustainable fleets, it is not clear why the new Mexico tax is being earmarked for the country’s defence department – however, the Mexican army has previously built railways within the country.

The cruise ship industry is against Mexico’s proposed immigration levy

Many of the major industry players warn that these new charges will deter ships from docking in Mexico and instead opt for cheaper Caribbean cruise destinations.

Jamaica is one possible alternative: despite already charging a $20 (€19.01) tax per passenger, it’s still competitively priced.

“If this measure is implemented, it would make Mexican ports of call among the most expensive in the world, severely affecting their competitiveness with other Caribbean destinations,” the Mexican Association of Shipping Agents said in a statement.

Likewise, a public letter from the Florida and Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), which represents 23 major cruise lines, said that it would make Mexico 213 per cent more expensive than the average Caribbean port.

The FCCA stated that the tax is making them actively consider “significantly altering itineraries”.

This is no idle threat – almost two decades ago, the cruise industry repositioned ships and rerouted itineraries to avoid a hefty ‘head tax’ imposed at Alaskan ports.

The tax “could also jeopardize the cruise industry’s investments in the country, including billions in planned developments and other projects,” the FCCA cautions.

Cruise company Royal Caribbean International, for example, is planning to open a private beach club in Cozumel in 2026, followed by a water park attraction called Perfect Day Mexico in 2027 near the Costa Maya cruise port.

Mexico is one of several countries to introduce cruise initiatives amid overtourism concerns

The number of global ocean cruise passengers is on the rise. The Caribbean, Bahamas, and Bermuda are the most popular cruise destinations.

In 2023, there were 31.8 million passengers worldwide – but that number is estimated to reach 39.4 million by 2027, according to Statista.

Several popular cruise destinations in Europe have introduced fees to tackle overtourism, including Amsterdam, and the Greek Islands of Mykonos and Santorini during the summer months.

An increasing number of Caribbean countries, including the Bahamas and Barbados, have already implemented passenger departure taxes to fund environmental and sustainability goals.