Cow to juggle the calendar of holidays and end-of-year celebrations with that of rail and air transport strikes? To date, several notices have been filed, which does not mean that the work stoppages will materialize. Negotiations with company management are possible up to the last minute.
Sometimes, the combativeness of union officials is not in line with the will of the base, aware that the end-of-year bonuses and the holidays to be recovered will be undermined by a movement paralyzing activity. But that doesn’t make scheduling family get-togethers or parties with friends any easier.
“I am quite confident that there will be no major disruptions” on the rail network, said Transport Minister Clément Beaune, on France 2, on Tuesday, adding: “We do not anticipate major disruptions in air travel for vacation departures. […] There will be trains, there will be planes. »
Air: managing the shortage
At Air France, in response to the end of the collective agreement governing the career conditions, remuneration and social security coverage of cabin crew (PNC, hostesses and stewards), the Unac and SNGAF unions filed a joint strike notice from Thursday December 22 to Monday January 2, 2023.
We do not know if this order will be followed. An assessment can only be drawn up with 48 hours’ notice, the statutory time for the strikers to declare themselves. The company will then have to manage the shortage, prefer long-haul to medium-haul, possibly fly planes with reduced passenger capacity with fewer cabin crew. The ratio of one cabin crew member for 50 passengers correlated to the number of aircraft doors is included in the European regulatory requirements.
A call for a strike by the pilots of Corsair, a carrier serving the West Indies, West Africa, Reunion and Mauritius, has been launched for Saturday December 17, the start of the school holidays, until the Thursday before Christmas, i.e. the December 22.
The National Union of Airline Pilots (SNPL) has not ruled out extending the movement “for subsequent vacation periods”. The company, in financial distress, is in conciliation in the Pointe-à-Pitre court with a debt of 124 million euros for 226 million in turnover for the last financial year.
In the West Indies and Guyana, the SNPL pilots of the regional airline Cairo, which owns Air Guyane and Air Antilles, are threatening to go on strike from Friday 16 to Thursday 22 December.
The hostesses and stewards of EasyJet, represented by SNPNC and Unac, for their part, lifted their strike threat, after accepting an 11% wage increase (7.5% on a fixed basis and 3. 5% on average on a variable basis).
SNCF signalmen strike
At the SNCF, the three main unions (CFDT Cheminots, SUD-Rail and Unsa Ferroviaire) filed several strike notices: from Thursday 15 to Monday 19 December, from Friday 23 to Monday 26 December, then from Friday 30 December to Monday 2 January.
Controller movements do not affect all trains. On some TER and Transilien trains, cameras or a set of mirrors allow the driver to check that the doors are closed. But, on the TGV and the Intercités, a skipper is necessary to carry out this function.
READ ALSOStrike: the “Yellow Vests” of the SNCF
In addition, the SUD-Rail union decided, on Friday December 9, to maintain its call for a signalmen’s strike covering the first weekend of the Christmas holidays (from Thursday December 15 to Monday December 19). The consequences may vary on the network depending on the representation in the various positions controlling the movement of trains in the stations or on the networks.
Attention, to arrive at the station, in Paris as in the provinces, to the possible strikes of metro or tram which will multiply the embarrassments of traffic on the surface.
Among our British neighbours, the announced general strike could have an impact on the Eurostar cross-Channel rail service. A million railway workers plan to walk off the job for ten days, and four days off (December 16, 18, 22 and 23) are already planned by airport and station security officers.
Passenger traffic at UK airports, including London-Heathrow and London-Gatwick, will be severely disrupted due to a strike by immigration officials. Both airports plan to cancel 30% of flights. Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow airports should also be affected by the social movement of immigration officials.
Reopening of Terminal 1 at Roissy-CDG
After three years of closure for work marked by a drop in traffic due to Covid, Terminal 1 at Roissy CDG airport has reopened its doors. Entirely dedicated to long-haul flights, this “historic” Terminal, surnamed the camembert, will find its passengers who may find themselves disoriented. The relocation of the companies from the other terminals will in fact be spread over several weeks until mid-January and concerns no less than 36 carriers including Lufthansa, Emirates and United. Also, before going to Roissy-CDG to catch a plane, it is advisable to consult the ADP website to find out where its airline operates. Pay attention also to the choice of parking at the airport. The outward journey can leave from Terminal 2. On the return, after the company has moved, the plane can arrive at Terminal 1.
The link between satellites 1, 2 and 3 of Terminal 1 has made it possible to create a boarding lounge of 5,600 m2.