France-Dublin air route cancelled and worst French airports for delays

Extra Eurostar trains to clear strike backlog

Eurostar says normal traffic has resumed through the Channel Tunnel with an extra six trains added to its normal rotation until Sunday (December 24) to help with the backlog of passengers.

Workers from tunnel operator Getlink staged a surprise seven-hour strike on December 21 calling for improved bonus pay. Around 30 trains were cancelled causing significant disruption.

The strike ended after negotiations between Getlink and the unions. No further action is expected

Read more: ‘Surprise’ strike closes Channel Tunnel and stops Eurostar services

Heavy traffic over Christmas weekend

People taking to the roads this weekend should expect heavy traffic at the southbound tolls around Paris and in the Rhone valley around Lyon.

Roads around shopping centres will also be heavily congested in the run up to Christmas.

Read more: Where to expect worst traffic over Christmas weekend in France

Ryanair cancels one route - and opens another

Low-cost airline Ryanair is stopping its Tours to Dublin route in 2024.

However, it will maintain its other flights to and from Tours, including from London-Stansted.

Ryanair has also announced that it will fly from Paris-Beauvais (Oise) to Milan-Malpensa from April 2024.

Easyjet to launch three new routes from Toulouse

Berlin, Milan and Zadar in Croatia are to be new destinations for Easyjet from Toulouse-Blagnac. The twice weekly flights will run from spring to autumn 2024. Tickets are available from €35.

10 worst French airports for cancellations in 2023

A list of the European airports with the most cancelled flights has been released by the consumer rights company Flightright with French airports second only to German ones for the number of cancellations.

In particular:

• Paris Orly was the worst in Europe with 2,188 cancellations for 92,860 flights (2.36%)
• Nice was ninth worst with 1,016 cancellations for 63,703 flights (1.56%)
• Charles de Gaulle was twelfth worst with 2,273 cancellations for 63,300 flights (1.19%)

French airport must change name as ‘too English’

Metz-Nancy-Lorraine airport has lost a court battle against a French-language association and cannot use English in France.

The Association Francophonie Avenir complained that the airport, known as ‘Lorraine airport’, should instead be called Lorraine Aéroport, under the Toubon law, which protects the use of French language in public.

The airport says it will not appeal. “We are a small organisation and it seemed a good idea to have a catchier, trendier name,” Airport CEO Yves Loubet told Le Figaro.

DFDS orders six electric ferries

Ferry operator DFDS has ordered six ferries, including two catamarans, which will operate on the Dover to Calais route from 2030.

The firm says it will invest up to €270m a year in the project as part of its 2030 Horizons strategy for carbon neutral travel.

The electric ‘maxi-catamarans’ will be constructed by the Australian shipbuilder Incat.