December Strikes Hit Europe, New Zealand Flights, Trains

Published on Nov 26, 2025, 9:09 am CST

11 min read

Key points

December strikes Europe flights and New Zealand services cluster on December 2, 8, 11, and 12, creating an elevated disruption window for early month travel
Portugal general strike on December 11 is expected to ground most flights at national airports, with only minimum services running and wider public sector impacts
Air New Zealand cabin crew plan a December 8 walkout that could disrupt up to 15000 passengers across regional, domestic, and international fleets if no agreement is reached
Italy general strike on December 12 is set to affect trains, some airport operations, ferries, and local transport networks during a 21 hour window
France wide strike on December 2 will hit public services and transport, including rail and urban networks, as unions protest the 2026 Budget
Travelers should avoid tight connections through Lisbon, Rome, Paris, and Auckland on strike days, prefer morning departures, and monitor airline waiver policies

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: Expect the heaviest disruption around Lisbon, Rome, Paris, and Auckland, plus knock on effects at regional airports and rail hubs tied into those networks
Best Times To Fly: Early morning or late evening departures on non strike days are safer, while flights in the middle of the day on December 2, 8, 11, and 12 carry higher delay and cancellation risk
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Avoid separate tickets and short connections through Lisbon, Rome, Paris, and Auckland for the first half of December, and leave at least three hours for any essential same day connections
Onward Travel And Changes: Build extra time into rail, ferry, and rental car pick ups on strike dates, and consider routing via lower risk hubs or shifting itineraries to the second half of December where possible
What Travelers Should Do Now: Check if your flights or trains touch France on December 2, New Zealand on December 8, Portugal on December 11, or Italy on December 12, then adjust dates, routes, or fares before call centers and airport lines spike

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A cluster of December strike calls in Portugal, Italy, France, and New Zealand is turning the first half of the month into a risky period for holiday flights and trains, with unions now confirming firm walkout dates across aviation and public transport. Travelers who connect through Lisbon, Rome, Paris, or Auckland, or who rely on their national rail and ferry networks, face a higher chance of delays, cancellations, and missed connections on those specific days. Anyone locking in early December trips should map their routes against the strike calendar, add buffer time at vulnerable hubs, and watch closely for airline and rail waiver policies.

In practical terms, these December strikes Europe flights and related rail and ferry actions will briefly push up disruption risk around December 2, 8, 11, and 12, making it more important than usual to avoid tight connections and to choose travel dates outside the worst affected windows where possible.

December Strike Calendar, First Half Of The Month

On December 2, unions in France including CGT, FSU, and Solidaires have called a nationwide day of mobilization against austerity and the 2026 Budget, with action expected across the civil service, education, and transport. French outlets and logistics advisories say strike notices will cover rail and urban transport in particular, which means reduced timetables and potential cancellations on SNCF trains and local networks in major cities including Paris, Lyon, and Marseille.

For travelers, the December 2 action is most likely to show up as fewer or more crowded trains, longer waits for metro and tram services, and possible knock on delays around Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) and Paris Orly Airport (ORY), where staff commutes and connecting rail links may be affected even if flights operate largely as scheduled. Those planning to use TGV high speed trains or RER and metro services to reach flights should leave extra time, consider backup options such as airport coaches or taxis, and avoid same day rail to rail or rail to air connections that rely on tight transfers through central Paris.

On December 8, Air New Zealand cabin crew represented by unions E tū and FAANZ plan what local media are calling an historic walkout, after months of negotiations over pay, fatigue, and safety concerns. The airline has issued a travel alert confirming that strike action is planned across regional fleets between 500 a.m. and 1100 p.m. and across domestic and international fleets between 1201 a.m. and 1159 p.m., all local time in New Zealand.

Estimates from New Zealand media suggest that up to 15,000 passengers could be disrupted in a single day if the strike proceeds, with particular vulnerability for services into and out of Auckland Airport (AKL), Wellington, and Christchurch, and for long haul flights that connect New Zealand to North America, Asia, and Europe. Air New Zealand is signaling that it will work to protect essential routes and to rebook affected passengers, but travelers should assume that December 8 is a high risk day for cancellations and last minute schedule changes on Air New Zealand metal, including some trans Tasman and Pacific services.

On December 11, a nationwide general strike in Portugal will test the resilience of both domestic infrastructure and international air links. The main union confederations CGTP and UGT have called a joint strike against proposed labor law reforms, and the national cabin crew union SNPVAC has voted by a large majority to join, representing around 5,000 airline cabin crew, most of them at TAP Air Portugal, plus crews at airlines including Ryanair, easyJet, and Azores Airlines.

SNPVAC leadership and aviation advisories warn that most flights at Portuguese airports are likely to be grounded, with only legally mandated minimum services operating, and that the strike is expected to affect all major hubs including Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS), Porto Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport (OPO), Faro Airport (FAO), and key Azores and Madeira gateways. Passengers flying on TAP Air Portugal or low cost carriers on December 11 should be prepared for widespread cancellations, rebooking onto later dates or different routings, and long lines at customer service desks, while those connecting through Lisbon on long haul itineraries should strongly consider avoiding that date or rerouting via other European hubs altogether.

On December 12, Italy faces a general strike led by its largest union, CGIL, in protest against the government s 2026 Budget and cuts to public services, with a specific focus on transport. Reuters and Italian outlets report that the strike will cover large parts of the rail network, local public transport, and some airport and port operations, with a 21 hour action window running from shortly after midnight on December 11 to 9:00 p.m. on December 12 according to the transport ministry.

Travel calendars compiled by Italian media indicate that national rail services, Rome public transport, airport ground operations, and some ferry links to islands such as Sicily and Sardinia will be affected, although minimum service windows are likely to guarantee a skeleton timetable during peak commuting hours. For travelers, that means potential delays and cancellations at hubs such as Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) and Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP), reduced frequency on Trenitalia and Italo high speed routes, and schedule changes on ferries that connect mainland ports to island destinations, all of which will be particularly painful for tight weekend city breaks or ski transfers.

Taken together, the December 2 France strike, the December 8 Air New Zealand walkout, the December 11 Portugal general strike, and the December 12 Italy general strike create a compressed two week window in which European and South Pacific transport networks are more vulnerable than usual. Industry roundups highlight that these actions sit on top of other national disputes and staffing shortages, which means that operational slack is limited and recovery from a bad strike day could spill over into the following morning s flights and trains in each region.

How Strikes Will Affect Flights And Rail Connections

For air travel, Portugal s general strike is likely to be the most disruptive single day event in Europe, because it directly targets airline cabin crew across multiple carriers that use Lisbon as a hub for transatlantic and African routes. If most flights at Lisbon, Porto, and Faro are grounded or heavily reduced on December 11, travelers connecting between North and South America, Europe, and Africa via TAP Air Portugal will see broken itineraries, limited same day rebooking options, and increased competition for seats on alternative carriers and routings.

Italy s December 12 action cuts across both rail and aviation support functions, raising the risk of disrupted airport trains, bus links, and local transit, even if many flights still operate thanks to minimum service rules for air traffic control. The combination of reduced trains, possible airport staff shortages, and ferry schedule changes can lengthen door to door journey times and complicate onward travel to island or mountain destinations that rely on coordinated train and ferry or bus connections.

In France, the December 2 strike is primarily a ground mobility and public services story, but any time rail and metro services are reduced, access to Paris area airports and key stations becomes less reliable. Travelers connecting from regional France into Paris for international flights, or from Eurostar and other international trains onto domestic services, should avoid planning short turnarounds on that date and instead move critical segments to adjacent days or build longer connection windows that tolerate delays.

In New Zealand, the Air New Zealand strike raises particular concern for itineraries that rely on the carrier for both domestic positioning flights and long haul legs on the same day. With industrial action planned across regional, domestic, and international fleets for much of December 8, a missed morning regional flight into Auckland or Wellington could cascade into missed evening departures to Los Angeles, Houston, Vancouver, Singapore, or Tokyo, especially for passengers on separate tickets who do not have protected connections.

Booking Strategies And Buffer Tactics For December Trips

Travelers who have not yet committed to dates can lower their risk significantly by steering clear of December 2, 8, 11, and 12 for critical flight or rail segments, particularly those involving Lisbon, Rome, Paris, or Auckland as hubs. Moving departures or arrivals by a day on either side, or shifting the most important legs to non strike days, will often be easier than managing last minute cancellations or spending hours in airport queues during the disruption itself.

For travelers who must travel on or through the affected dates, two tactics stand out. First, avoid separate tickets whenever possible so that a single airline or rail operator is responsible for reprotection if a strike breaks your itinerary. Second, aim for longer connections, three hours or more in many cases, and prefer early morning departures which are less exposed to knock on delays and cancellation waves that build up later in the day. Booking flexible or refundable fares for high risk segments can also make it easier to move trips if unions escalate or extend the actions.

On the ground, it is wise to treat airport and station access as part of the strike exposure. In both France and Italy, reduced metro, tram, and bus services can make it harder to reach city airports and rail stations, especially during commuting peaks, while in Portugal public sector participation may affect everything from security staffing to local transport. Booking earlier airport transfers, allowing more time for bag drop and security, and having backup routes in mind, such as taxis or rideshares when urban rail is disrupted, will help keep itineraries on track.

For complex itineraries that combine multiple high risk countries, such as a December Europe tour that strings together France, Italy, and Portugal within a single week, a more conservative approach may be justified. That can include reordering stops so that the most affected countries fall outside strike dates, building rest days that double as buffers after critical train or flight segments, or choosing alternative hubs, for example routing via Madrid, Zurich, or Amsterdam instead of Lisbon or Rome on strike days.

Background, Why December Is So Active For Strikes

The December wave reflects a broader pattern of unions using late year budget debates and labor law reforms to press for higher wages, better conditions, and safeguards against austerity. In Portugal, the general strike targets a proposed labor law overhaul that would make dismissals easier and working hours more flexible, with unions arguing that the reforms would erode job security and work life balance.

In Italy, CGIL and allied unions are protesting a budget that they say shifts resources away from public services and investment, while maintaining or increasing defense spending, and they are coupling the December 12 strike to demands for renewed national labor contracts and stronger protections against precarious work and workplace accidents.

French unions frame the December 2 mobilization as a defense against austerity embedded in the 2026 Budget and a tool to push the government into revising plans that they argue underfund wages and public services, even as the government signals that it expects to manage disruption and avoid escalation.

In New Zealand, the Air New Zealand dispute centers on cabin crew fatigue, wellbeing, and pay, with unions warning that current conditions pose safety concerns and are unsustainable over the long term. That combination of budget fights, structural labor reforms, and frontline workload disputes explains why strikes are clustering in December, and suggests that travelers could see similar pressure points around future budget cycles unless underlying agreements are reached.

For readers planning trips, the key is not to track every detail of the political debate, but to recognize that early December 2025 is an unusually dense strike period and to adjust routes, dates, and buffers accordingly. This article follows Adept Traveler s editorial and image guidelines for clear, traveler focused strike coverage.