Possible trouble during Easter holidays trips
A few days for a bathing holiday by the sea or a varied city trip: the desire to travel over the Easter days is excellent. But beware of : Possible troubles during Easter holidays trips.
Anyone travelling over Easter days should bring a lot of patience and smiles. It is possible, however, to experience long waiting times, untimely or even cancelled flights, road jams, and even poor hotel services.
Security check wait times may be long
Zurich Airport’s security checks are handled by the cantonal police on behalf of Flughafen Zürich AG. However, an airport spokeswoman says it is not always possible for the police to provide the required quota because of the Corona pandemic and the dried-up job market. Therefore, it is possible to have longer wait times at the security checkpoint during peak times. So arrive earlier and have an easy and cheerful start to your trip.
Standing room only on full trains
Switzerland’s south looks to have better weather over Easter than the rest of the country. As a result, Ticino is likely to be a popular destination among sun-seekers. Rail passengers overload the system, so the SBB runs extra trains to accommodate them. Additionally, wagons and train units will be added to various regular trains. An additional 36,000 seats will be available as a result of the measures. But that still might not be enough.
Reservations are recommended if you want to guarantee a seat. In contrast, according to the online portal “Watson“, some trains have already been fully booked. Travellers who are travelling by bike may need help finding it. Bicycle transportation is already fully booked in several trains despite additional offers. Therefore, hoping for a seat with your bike on the train without a reservation is not a good idea.
Plan your road trip accordingly.
It should be the same for drivers going south as usual. Traffic jams are expected to occur in extreme numbers this year because of various factors, according to the Viasuisse traffic service. Maundy Thursday is expected to reach its peak between noon and midnight. During Easter Monday’s return trip, between 12:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., traffic jams around the south portal of the Gotthard are likely to occur.
So prepare yourself with a lot of patience, good music and food and hit the road trying to avoid the pick hours.
Staff shortages result in service deficiencies.
Like in many other European tourism destinations, the staff shortage is becoming a massive issue in Switzerland. With many tourism and hospitality workers switching industries during Corona’s time, this shortage is becoming a significant problem.
Now everywhere, including Switzerland, with capacities being full by more than 80%, get ready for some long service time in hotel restaurants and some delays in cleaning services.
European airport strikes cause flight delays.
Security personnel at Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport have been on strike since last Friday. Until Easter Sunday, the strike will continue. Around 300 flights have been cancelled by British Airways as a precaution. Flight operations are expected to continue at the airport. Be careful and inform yourself accordingly if you plan a trip to London.
Air traffic over Easter is also problematic in Spain. 17 Spanish airports have been called off work by baggage handling company Swissport unions. Almeria, Alicante-Elche, Barcelona-El Prat, Burgos, Gran Canaria, Huesca, Lanzarote and Logroño airports are among the 24-hour strikes running since February 27 and will continue through April 13.
Madrid-Barajas, Málaga, Murcia, Reus, Salamanca, Tenerife-South, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza have affected airports. In addition, the employees of the handling company Swissport are called to strike every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
In France, the pension reform has sparked the fifth wave of strikes.
The strikes continued as soon as the controversial pension reform passed in France—several forms of transportation have been paralyzed since January 31. In addition, large protests are taking place in Paris against raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. A long-running strike has also taken place at the garbage disposal. As a result, the French capital got flooded with garbage bags.
All those reasons are causing some unpleasant expectations for trips around France.
So for those who have already planned your trips to France, be careful and avoid trouble.
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Photo by Kajetan Sumila on Unsplash
