Travel planners face another bout of labour unrest as a fresh wave of strikes sweeps across Europe. According to industry journal Travel and Tour World, unions in Italy, Belgium, Germany—and crucially France—have announced coordinated walk-outs across rail, metro and air-traffic-control sectors throughout the second half of November. Though exact timetables differ by country, French rail unions plan rolling stoppages starting 14 November while a coalition of smaller air-traffic-controller unions has filed a separate five-day notice from 18 November.
France’s Direction générale de l’aviation civile (DGAC) typically orders preventive flight reductions of 20–30 percent when ATC participation exceeds critical thresholds. Regional airports such as Marseille, Bordeaux and Nantes may see blanket cancellations, while Paris-Orly and Charles-de-Gaulle usually maintain a skeleton service for long-haul operations. High-speed TGV and Ouigo services are likewise vulnerable, particularly on the busy Paris–Lyon and Paris–Lille corridors that link corporate hubs.
![Wave of November Transport Strikes Set to Disrupt French Rail and Air Networks]()
Why it matters for mobility managers: November is year-end planning season for many firms, generating a spike in short-notice trips for budget meetings and expatriate-assignment handovers. Disruptions complicate duty-of-care obligations and may force expensive last-minute ticket changes. Companies should activate travel-alert systems, reroute via unaffected hubs such as Geneva or Luxembourg where feasible, and secure flexible fares that allow same-day re-booking.
Looking further ahead, the strikes also test France’s new law requiring air-traffic controllers to give 48 hours’ notice before joining industrial action—legislation designed to give the DGAC more time to devise contingency timetables. November will provide the first real-world assessment of whether the rule meaningfully limits chaos or merely shifts it from cancellations to longer queues.
France’s Direction générale de l’aviation civile (DGAC) typically orders preventive flight reductions of 20–30 percent when ATC participation exceeds critical thresholds. Regional airports such as Marseille, Bordeaux and Nantes may see blanket cancellations, while Paris-Orly and Charles-de-Gaulle usually maintain a skeleton service for long-haul operations. High-speed TGV and Ouigo services are likewise vulnerable, particularly on the busy Paris–Lyon and Paris–Lille corridors that link corporate hubs.
Why it matters for mobility managers: November is year-end planning season for many firms, generating a spike in short-notice trips for budget meetings and expatriate-assignment handovers. Disruptions complicate duty-of-care obligations and may force expensive last-minute ticket changes. Companies should activate travel-alert systems, reroute via unaffected hubs such as Geneva or Luxembourg where feasible, and secure flexible fares that allow same-day re-booking.
Looking further ahead, the strikes also test France’s new law requiring air-traffic controllers to give 48 hours’ notice before joining industrial action—legislation designed to give the DGAC more time to devise contingency timetables. November will provide the first real-world assessment of whether the rule meaningfully limits chaos or merely shifts it from cancellations to longer queues.
