Strikes on the ground, underground, as well as strong storms in the air almost completely paralyzed “tourist life” in one of the largest European capitals. It is in London. This coming weekend, this city will be paralyzed and plunged into the chaos of the Middle Ages: thousands of workers in the field of public transport – the railway company Network Rail, the London Underground, and buses have planned mass strikes for Saturday and Sunday.
The local mass media publish mass schedules of what and where will be working, and what will be on strike, but the general advice is one – if possible, do not travel to London or its surroundings. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT), the Transport Salaried Workers’ Association (TSSA) and Unite have all announced strike action after negotiations over pay rises failed to break an impasse. The result will be at least 50% of the railways around London, as well as the London Underground and at least one bus operator.
At the same time, the protests started already on Thursday and will continue at least until Sunday. And experts fear that the “domino effect” will continue for at least a week.
Chaos is also complemented by a natural factor: phenomenal heat leaves Europe “with thunder and lightning” in the literal sense – storms, showers, and hurricane-force winds covered both European resorts and Great Britain. Some flights at Gatwick Airport have already been canceled since Wednesday due to bad weather conditions both in the south of England and in Europe.
Judging by the complaints of tourists on social networks, many of them found out that their flight was canceled at the last moment — already at the airport, or even on the plane. One tourist complained that he had to sit on the plane for three hours before being told that the plane was not going anywhere. Among those who canceled their flights, almost all popular tourist budget carriers – EasyJet, Ryanair, British Airways, Vueling, and Wizz Air.