Strikes & Alerts

RAIL TRANSPORT

• In India, construction site renovations at Sambalpur railway station will affect train services on several routes in Odisha for more than 4 months, from September 20, 2024 to February 5, 2025.
• As a result of a major explosion at the Eni depot in Calenzano, in the metropolitan city of Florence, rail traffic is suspended on the Florence-Bologna and Florence-Prato-Pistoia conventional lines. This was announced by Rfi’s Infomobility website, with trains that will experience restrictions and cancellations. Traffic between Calenzano and Sesto Fiorentino is blocked.

AIR TRANSPORT

• We inform you that due to thick fog flights to and from Amsterdam and Eindhoven may experience delays. Delays and cancellations are expected.
• In Haiti, American Airlines will no longer resume its daily service from Miami to Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince. American initially suspended flights until February 12. The suspension is now indefinite.
• Haiti’s government on Wednesday celebrated the reopening of the capital’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport, which had been closed since last month, even as the U.S. Aviation Control Board extended the flight ban for U.S. airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration said it plans to extend the ban on U.S. airlines flying into or out of the capital Port-au-Prince until March 12.
• In Germany, Lufthansa has extended its suspension of flights to and from Tehran until Jan. 31 and to Beirut until Feb. 28 due to the current situation in the Middle East.
  Larnaca (Cyprus) – Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air will resume flights from Cyprus to Israel. The first Wizz Air flight from Larnaca to Tel Aviv will take off on December 20, 2024.
• Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). S-Bahn access to Berlin Brandenburg Airport will be interrupted for 2 months starting September 13 for construction work.
  Starting Oct. 26, Virgin Atlantic will discontinue the London Heathrow-Shanghai route claiming that increased flight times to avoid Russian airspace make it financially unsustainable.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Los Angeles, California – FIRE – A mandatory evacuation order is in place after a new fire spread approximately 50 acres on the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties
• Bulgaria will temporarily introduce Bulgarian-Romanian internal border controls starting January 1, 2025. These measures will be maintained for six months. The Bulgarian Council of Ministers adopted a decision to ensure the implementation of the Quadripartite Declaration between Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, agreed on November 22.
• The German government announced plans to impose stricter controls at all the country’s land borders in an effort to counter irregular immigration and protect the population from threats. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the controls within the European Schengen zone, will begin Sept. 16 and will initially last six months.
• The Madrid Workers Union plans to protest at the Madrid Assembly starting at noon on Dec. 19.

ETA – Electronic Travel Authorization for travel to the United Kingdom

For European citizens, Electronic Travel Authorization (Eta) for entry to the United Kingdom will come into effect on April 2, 2025. A measure expected as one of the consequences of Brexit. The cost will be 10 pounds (about 12 euros), while the response should arrive within a maximum of three days.

All the information, at this link.

Ryanair: Major change at check in.

CEO Michael O’Leary has announced plans to eliminate dedicated airport check in counters within the next 6 months. Without ticket counters, it will no longer be possible to check in directly at the airport, a procedure that is now only disincentivized through the imposition of a penalty of up to 55 euros.