BRITS are warned to only travel by train unless absolutely necessary tomorrow as thousands of workers go on strike.
Some 40,000 workers under Network Rail plan to ditch their stations on Wednesday, alongside 14 operators, it has been reported.
Only 20 per cent of train services will run on Wednesday, therefore Brits have been urged to avoid travel at all costs on this day.
This could cause disruptions for the Women's Euro 2022 semi-final, which is being held in Milton Keynes.
Simultaneous walkouts and chaos will cripple Britain's transport infrastructure during the first official week of summer holidays for most schools.
Traffic jams swamped the Eurotunnel car terminal in Folkestone, Kent, after part of the M20 was shut to park 600 lorries.
It was a knock-on from the nightmare that gripped the Port of Dover on Friday and Saturday with ferries struggling to clear the freight backlog.
Ferry operator DFDS told Dover passengers that there were "queues of around an hour" for French border checks this morning as they issued travel advice.
They advised passengers to "allow a minimum of 120 minutes before your departure to complete all controls" amid reports queues had eased.
In a further blow to Brits, Ryanair will also strike this week.
Read our travel delays live blog below for the latest news & updates…
- Louis Allwood
Transport for London reviewing long-term funding settlement
Transport for London (TfL) says it is reviewing a draft proposal from the Government for a long-term funding settlement.
TfL has been operating on a series of emergency short-term funding deals since falling into financial trouble during the pandemic.
Andy Byford, London’s Transport Commissioner, said the long-term funding – if agreed – would provide much-needed certainty for those in the nation’s capital.
He said: “Since keeping London moving through the darkest periods of the pandemic we have been making the case to Government that there can be no UK recovery without a London recovery and that there can be no London recovery without a properly funded transport network.
“We are grateful for the support we have received so far, and maintain we have met every condition that has been set by Government as we have worked towards agreeing a multi-year funding settlement that would give certainty to London and to the tens of thousands of jobs across the country that are directly linked to TfL.”
- Louis Allwood
What to expect on Thursday after the train strikes
- Most services will run as normal
- Services affected by the strike on Wednesday will operate a minimal service before 08:00 and restore a normal service by midday. These include:
- London Overground
- The Elizabeth line
- District line – Wimbledon and Richmond branches
Strike date round-up
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association – July 27
Arriva Rail London, Chiltern Railways, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains – July 30
RMT – August 18 and 20
- Louis Allwood
Another airline forced to cancel hundreds of flights
ANOTHER airline has been forced to cancel hundreds of flights due to strike action.
German flag carrier Lufthansa has confirmed that nearly all of their flights at Frankfurt and Munich will be cancelled tomorrow.
Airports including Berlin, Bremen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover and Stuttgart are also expected to be affected.
The cancellations have been caused by a strike from German ground staff.
It is estimated that 678 flights will be cancelled across the two major airports, affecting around 134,000 passengers.
The airline confirmed that passengers affected will be contacted for alternative flights, although this is expected to be limited.
- Louis Allwood
ALL British Airways flights at risk this summer
British Airways pilots are now threatening to strike this summer – which could see nearly all flights grounded.
Pilots are threatening to walk out over a disagreement over wages, after taking a salary cut of 20 per cent in 2020 to prevent pandemic-caused job losses.
The strike comes just days after check-in and baggage staff were given a wage increase after threatening strike action, which was called off at the last minute.
Pilots are now putting pressure on their union Balpa (The British Airline Pilots Association) for a ballot of their own.
The union say their members are angry because the airline refuses to reverse temporary pay cuts.
Instead, the pilots are seeking a pay increase, with travel returning to almost pre-pandemic levels this summer.
- Louis Allwood
How do I know if my refund voucher is ATOL protected?
In July 2020, the ATOL scheme announced that consumers who accepted refund credit notes for cancelled ATOL-protected trips, would continue to be financially protected under the ATOL scheme.
This protection applies to refund credit notes issued between 10 March 2020 and 19 December 2021.
ATOL stands for Air Travel Organiser’s Licence and is a UK scheme that protects most package holidays.
It protects you in the event your travel company goes bust or there is a problem with your trip, such as was seen during the Covid crisis.
You can check whether your holiday is ATOL protected by looking for the logo on the travel company’s website, shop window or brochure at the time of booking.
Members of the scheme should display the logo along with their ATOL number.
If in doubt, ask your travel agent or the company you are booking with.
You can also search the company’s name or ATOL number using the ATOL database.
- Louis Allwood
Over £54 million of package holiday refund vouchers need to be used NOW
Thousands of travellers are being urged to renew refund vouchers or risk losing valuable protections on cancelled holidays.
The Civil Aviation Authority has warned that those with credit notes from package holiday providers to act now as more than £50million remains unspent on these vouchers.
Travellers affected by flight cancellations during the height of the coronavirus pandemic have just weeks left to redeem or cash out their travel vouchers.
If customers don’t use their refund vouchers before September 30, they’ll lose ATOL protection – and if their travel provider goes bust they’ll lose the cash.
Michael Budge, head of ATOL at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “Demand for travel is continuing to grow and we want to make sure travellers are making the most of the financial protection available to them.
“With more than £50 million of refund credit notes remaining unspent, this affects consumers booked with some of our biggest travel companies.
Anyone with a refund credit note is advised to make an ATOL-protected booking or request a refund before 30 September 2022 to avoid putting their money at risk.
- Louis Allwood
What to expect tomorrow
- National rail strike planned
- Most TfL services will run as normal
- Some TfL services that use Network Rail track will be affected
How much does it cost to cancel an easyJet flight and how far in advance do you need to do it?
If you cancel within 24 hours of booking you will receive a refund minus the cancellation fee, which is £49 online and £55 over the phone.
After 24 hours of booking, easyJet flights are non-refundable.
But if a serious illness or family bereavement causes you to cancel, contact customer services.
They may remove the fee and offer a flight voucher to use within six months. You may be required to provide proof, such as a death certificate.
- Louis Allwood
How do you cancel an easyJet flight?
To cancel an easyJet flight, you need to go to the easyJet website.
Go to the Manage Bookings section and use your surname and booking reference to log in, and then choose the flight reservation you wish to cancel and click “Cancel”.
If you are asked to pay a cancellation fee, you can do so by entering your card payment details – and your flight should now be cancelled.
Alternatively, customers can call the easyJet customer service team on 0330 365 5000.
You can also cancel flights at an easyJet Help Desk at most airports – but this must be under two hours before take-off.
If your flight is cancelled due to a coronavirus travel ban or the Foreign Office advises against travel to your destination, you will be fully refunded.
But if you choose not to fly due to personal safety concerns and the flight does go ahead, you are not entitled to your money back.
- Louis Allwood
'We should actually be talking about pay increases'
Martin Chalk, Balpa general secretary, said: “We are in talks with British Airways and wish to persuade them that continuing deductions from our members’ pay is unwarranted.
"We should actually be talking about pay increases given the inflationary scenario.
“Unless BA is prepared to walk with us down that road then we will have to consult with members to consider our next actions.”
- Louis Allwood
Holidaymakers face huge queues at Manchester and Bristol airports
HUNDREDS of travellers faced lengthy queues at Manchester and Bristol airports yesterday.
And more misery is possible as British Airways pilots threaten strikes over pay.
BA pilots were considering a ballot on strike action last night after bosses rejected demands for a new pay deal.
Industrial action could heap more misery on hard-pressed holidaymakers already facing airport delays and cancellations.
BA pilots agreed to temporary pay cuts in 2020 to avoid mass redundancies during the Covid pandemic, but no end date was agreed.
The airline endured a devastating two years which saw the business lose more than £4billion. Pilots accepted a five per cent pay reward earlier this year.
Now pilots’ union Balpa is demanding proper pay rises for its members as BA returns to profitability, saying the airline “seems to ignore you until you issue a [strike] ballot”.
- Joseph Gamp
Liz Truss vows to limit trade unions' ability to 'paralyse the economy'
Liz Truss has pledged to do "everything in her power" to ensure "militant action" from trade unions can no longer "paralyse" the economy if she wins the Tory leadership contest.
The Foreign Secretary announced a series of measures aimed at preventing trade unions from causing disruption on strategic rail routes and other national services.
If she becomes prime minister at the beginning of September, Ms Truss said her government would introduce legislation in the first 30 days of Parliament to guarantee a minimum level of service on vital national infrastructure.
Tailored minimum thresholds, including staffing levels, would be determined with each industry.
She would also ensure strike action has significant support from union members by raising the minimum threshold for voting in favour of strike action from 40% to 50%.
The minimum notice period for strike action would be raised from two weeks to four weeks, and a cooling-off period would be implemented so that unions can no longer strike as many times as they like in the six-month period after a ballot.
Ms Truss would also put an end to members receiving tax-free payments from trade unions on the days they are on strike.
She said: "We need tough and decisive action to limit trade unions' ability to paralyse our economy.
"I will do everything in my power to make sure that militant action from trade unions can no longer cripple the vital services that hard-working people rely on."
- Lauren Lomas
Port of Dover hanging on ‘knife edge’
Holidaymakers have been warned the Kent port is on a “knife edge” as the country’s travel mayhem entered its third torturous day.
A “critical incident” was declared at Dover on Friday, with holidaymakers told to arrive six hours early for ferry queues lasting up to five hours.
A ramp up of post-Brexit border checks and French authorities’ understaffing checkpoints have been blamed for the hold-ups.
Local authorities have now urged ministers to handle the issue as a “national problem” instead of the “sticking plaster” approach.
- Lauren Lomas
Brits queue for hours at UK airports – just as school holidays start
Almost a million holidaymakers were expected to leave the UK on flights this weekend.
Long queues could be seen at Heathrow and Bristol airports.
And Manchester and Stansted also struggled with an influx of arrivals.
Social media was awash with complaints of lost luggage not being recovered.
One holidaymaker at Manchester told us: “We were packed in like sardines. It was mayhem.”
Click here to read more.
- Lauren Lomas
Little-known Universal Credit rule could see you fly home from holiday EARLY
Sun seekers are jetting off on their jollies despite the travel chaos, but this mistake could see your benefit payments cut or stopped all together.
If you’re planning on going abroad for any length of time you must tell the Department for Work and Pensions about your plans.
If you don’t report this, you could see your claim stopped or reduced, and you might have to cut your holiday short.
You can go for a holiday for up to a month – but you still need to stick to the conditions of your claim, which involves looking for a job.
How you report a change in your personal circumstances depends on what benefit you are claiming.
Click here to read more.
- Lauren Lomas
More queues at Dover as fears of ‘vulnerable summer’ grow
Queues are building at the Port of Dover amid fears that the severe disruption seen in recent days could return to Kent throughout the summer.
Ferry operator DFDS told passengers that there were “queues of around an hour” for French border checks on Monday morning, and to “allow a minimum of 120 minutes before your departure to complete all controls”.
P&O Ferries wrote on Twitter: “The queues have picked up and it is taking approximately one hour to clear passport control.”
Passengers were forced to wait for several hours on Friday as bumper-to-bumper traffic stretching for miles marred the journeys of tens of thousands of families at the start of the school summer holidays.
This was blamed on a staffing shortage at French border control and a serious crash on the M20 motorway.
- Lauren Lomas
AA warns travel chaos to jam Britain’s roads during warm months
Head of roads policy at the AA Jack Cousens shared his worries that delays will last throughout the warm months.
He explained: “We are concerned that we could be in for a repeat of this congestion across the summer.
“Drivers due to use both Dover and Folkestone to head into Europe on Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday mornings between now and the reopening of schools may see a repetition of these delays.”
- Lauren Lomas
New rail map shows only half of services will run this week
RAIL bosses have unveiled a new map of misery showing how only half of Britain’s network will be open this week.
More than 50,000 railway staff will walkout in the biggest dispute on the network in 33 years.
A map shows the lines which will continue operating in and out of London during the affected dates.
- Lauren Lomas
More queues at Dover as fears of ‘vulnerable summer’ grow
Queues are building at the Port of Dover amid fears that the severe disruption seen in recent days could return to Kent throughout the summer.
Ferry operator DFDS told passengers that there were “queues of around an hour” for French border checks on Monday morning, and to “allow a minimum of 120 minutes before your departure to complete all controls”.
P&O Ferries wrote on Twitter: “The queues have picked up and it is taking approximately one hour to clear passport control.”
Passengers were forced to wait for several hours on Friday as bumper-to-bumper traffic stretching for miles marred the journeys of tens of thousands of families at the start of the school summer holidays.
This was blamed on a staffing shortage at French border control and a serious crash on the M20 motorway.
- Lauren Lomas
Passengers in Folkestone ‘treated worse than cattle’
Passengers at Folkestone said they were “treated worse than cattle” while stuck in their cars for up to 21 hours this weekend.
The gridlock was blamed on the decision to shut a 24-mile stretch of the M20 due to Operation Brock.
Kent Police effectively turned the roads into a car park for thousands of lorries in an attempt to ease congestion – which seems to have backfired.
The AA branded the entrance to the Eurotunnel in Folkestone the “hotspot of holiday hell”, warning drivers to “be prepared”.
- Lauren Lomas
Transport for London reviewing long-term funding settlement
Transport for London (TfL) says it is reviewing a draft proposal from the Government for a long-term funding settlement.
TfL has been operating on a series of emergency short-term funding deals since falling into financial trouble during the pandemic.
Andy Byford, London’s Transport Commissioner, said the long-term funding – if agreed – would provide much-needed certainty for those in the nation’s capital.
He said: “Since keeping London moving through the darkest periods of the pandemic we have been making the case to Government that there can be no UK recovery without a London recovery and that there can be no London recovery without a properly funded transport network.
“We are grateful for the support we have received so far, and maintain we have met every condition that has been set by Government as we have worked towards agreeing a multi-year funding settlement that would give certainty to London and to the tens of thousands of jobs across the country that are directly linked to TfL.”
- Lauren Lomas
Holidaymakers warned ‘long way to go’ before Dover backlog cleared
Holidaymakers and residents have been warned there is a “way to go” to clear the backlog at Dover with a “very busy” day expected but port authorities expressed relief at improved levels of French border staff.
Some 10,000 cars were expected at the port on Saturday, with more than 13,000 passengers said to be “on their way” before 10am.
Scenes of gridlocked roads and bumper-to-bumper cars seen on Friday were repeated as travellers, some of whom got out of their vehicles to stretch their legs while traffic was at a standstill, endured more lengthy waits.
Port of Dover chief executive Doug Bannister indicated that five to six-hour delays could still be the case on Saturday, which was already expected to be a busier day than Friday.
This is one of the busiest periods for foreign travel from the UK as most schools in England and Wales have broken up for summer.
Chaotic scenes at the port have prompted Foreign Secretary and Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss to blame France for “entirely avoidable” delays, calling on officials there to “build up capacity at the border to limit any further disruption for British tourists and to ensure this appalling situation is avoided in future”.
- Lauren Lomas
Port of Dover hanging on ‘knife edge’
Holidaymakers have been warned the Kent port is on a “knife edge” as the country’s travel mayhem entered its third torturous day.
A “critical incident” was declared at Dover on Friday, with holidaymakers told to arrive six hours early for ferry queues lasting up to five hours.
A ramp up of post-Brexit border checks and French authorities’ understaffing checkpoints have been blamed for the hold-ups.
Local authorities have now urged ministers to handle the issue as a “national problem” instead of the “sticking plaster” approach.
- Lauren Lomas
Brit fined £426 for making simple mistake on holiday
The 42-year-man was visiting Rome's Piazza di Spagna during his Italian break.
However, he was caught by Rome police officers when he dipped his feet in the fountain to cool off.
Not only is this banned, with the strict fine, but he was also issued with a temporary ban from returning to the area, according to local media.
A number of holidaymakers have been fined for jumping into Rome's fountains in recent months, after the country struggled with temperatures as high as 40C.
While tourists can use the free drinking water fountains at the landmarks, going into them is banned.
Click here to read more!
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