For some unlucky travellers, Christmas has been abruptly cancelled.

Huge German holiday firm TUI has begun scrapping some of its wildly popular Lapland trips as an essential element is missing: snow.

Towns like Rovaniemi, the ‘official home of Santa’, have experienced unseasonably mild conditions over the past few weeks. Rather than the typical 20-30cm of snow on the ground, November saw no more than a couple of centimetres in isolated patches, with most of the region devoid of the white stuff entirely.

On 3 and 4 December 2024, TUI cancelled several trips to Kuusamo in Finnish Lapland due to a lack of snow. Heavy rainfall in the area washed away what little snow remained, making it impossible to undertake many of the wintry excursions planned for visitors.

Why are Lapland trips cancelled?

In a statement released on Tuesday 4 December, the travel company said,

“We’ve been closely monitoring the weather forecast in Kuusamo. Unfortunately, there has been heavy rainfall today and what snow there was, has washed away.

“This means that, regretfully, it won’t be possible to operate the magical Lapland experience we had planned for you, including tasters and pre-booked excursions. We understand how devastating this news will be, and we are really sorry to have reached this outcome.”

Affected guests have been offered the option to change their travel dates, including to next winter, at no additional cost, to rebook onto another holiday with a 10 per cent discount, or to get a full refund for their trip.

Other travel agents are monitoring the weather closely, and some areas are using snow cannons to ensure their visitors have the magical winter experience they planned.

Lapland: A popular winter destination

A few decades ago, travelling to Lapland to visit Santa was something kids could only dream about. But today, thanks to hundreds of new air connections to European countries, a magical visit to the real home of St. Nick is just a ticket away.

Finnavia, the operator of Finnish airports, noted that last year over 1.5 million visitors arrived in Finnish Lapland, 20 per cent more than the previous year. In November and December alone, Rovaniemi, Kittilä, Ivalo, Kuusamo, and Kemi-Tornio airports saw 547,773 passengers pass through.

As well as Finland, Swedish Lapland has seen record visitor numbers in recent years. In the county of Norrbotten, home to Lapland, winter tourism increased by 9 per cent in 2023, with the town of Kiruna – home to the famous ICEHOTEL – seeing 50,000 more guest nights compared with the previous year.

Many visitors arrive anticipating days of chilly fun – dog sleds, snowmobiling, reindeer safaris. With little to no snow in some areas, activities like this become impossible. Even the reindeer are struggling to retrieve their favourite food, lichen, from beneath layers of packed ice.

Will there be any snow in Lapland this Christmas?

According to travel company J2SKI, very little snow is expected in Lapland over the coming days.

The next snowfall is anticipated on 6 December, and over the next week, ski areas are expected to receive between 2 and 6cm of snow. While it is possible to ski and sled on smaller depths of snow like this, the packed ice underneath is likely to make conditions unfavourable for many popular winter activities.

Is climate change hitting Lapland?

It’s not just the winter that has been mild in Scandinavia. Finnish Lapland saw the warmest summer on record this year, with June, July, and August recording record temperatures at almost all weather stations in the Northern parts of the country. On average, temperatures were 2 to 3.5 degrees C higher than the average.

Finland’s Meteorological Institute blames climate change for the heat, with researcher Mika Rantanen telling news agency AFP, “The minimum temperatures were very high in Lapland… there were no cold spells at all.”

At the end of October, Lapland was experiencing an unusually warm spell, with temperatures in Kilpisjärvi soaring to 11.2 degrees C. The average high for the region in October is just 2.8 degrees C. And in November, the town of Utsjoki recorded temperatures of 11 degrees C, breaking the previous record high set in 1975.

Jim Dale, founder and Senior Meteorological Consultant at British Weather Services told Euronews Travel that climate change is to blame. He said, “Over the past 20 years, there has been a regression of European snow, punctuated by occasional very large falls and also sudden thaws that have often made for dangerous conditions. That is climate change inspired without a shadow of a doubt.”

Dale explained that, with more moisture in the atmosphere, snowfalls are bigger when the air is cold enough. This sort of famine-to-feast scenario is a pattern he sees continuing in the future. “That isn’t to say there won’t be ordinary seasons when everything appears as it was – that’s the natural flow of weather. But it’s all underscored by climate change and the unpredictability and chaos that it can and will bring,” he added.

Sharron Livingston, travel expert and founder of The Travel Magazine, told Euronews Travel it’s not just Lapland suffering.

“The lack of snow is not unique to Rovaniemi. In 2023, the Alps around Switzerland, Italy, and France had an unusually mild winter, and there was a deficit of snow in low altitudes. It may be due to climate change or just the way it is currently and could change.”

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.