Foreign Office issues warning for anyone travelling to France in July

The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for those jetting off to France, warning of potential disruptions in the coming weeks.

The government's website now reflects concerns over air traffic control issues and strikes. Further industrial action is expected to affect public transport systems until September.

This comes on the heels of a tumultuous week for airlines, which saw the sudden collapse of a significant holiday provider, resulting in the abrupt cancellation of all their July bookings. On the situation in France, the Foreign Office has said: "Throughout June, planned industrial action by port worker and air traffic control unions is expected to disrupt some ferry routes and flights across France, with some routes and flights diverted or cancelled."

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Travellers have also been advised to "Check your operator's advice before travelling, including where you are taking connecting flights. Until September, possible industrial action may cause disruption on the Paris public transport system (RATP). Check the RATP website for live service updates."

To add to the travel woes, Unite union has announced that 300 security and passenger services staff at Gatwick Airport are set to strike for six days in July. According to the Express, these strikes are scheduled for the 12th-14th and the 19th-21st of July.

Last week, Youtravel announced that all bookings up to and including 26 July would be cancelled. The company described the decision to extend cancellations beyond 5 July as 'difficult', as discussions about its future continue.

Youtravel is a subsidiary of the German firm FTI Group, whose tour operator brand, FTI Touristik, declared insolvency earlier this month. As many UK travel agents utilise the group's services, potentially thousands of holidaymakers could see their plans disrupted.

It was confirmed that all active bookings for arrivals up to and including 26 July would be cancelled without charge by Monday 1 July, leaving agents with packages for UK travellers who have accommodation booked via Youtravel only a few days to react.

In other news, Aer Lingus pilots staged an eight-hour walkout today in an ongoing dispute over pay with the airline. Prior to Saturday's full strike, pilots had been participating in an indefinite work-to-rule industrial action that began on Wednesday.

So far, nearly 400 flights have been cancelled, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.

A lack of air traffic controllers has caused numerous cancellations and delays at UK airports in recent days. Ryanair and Wizz Air have been particularly affected by the chaos, with Ryanair confirming 60 flight cancellations and another 150 potential delays.

Neal McMahon, Chief Operations Officer at Ryanair, has slammed air traffic control services, claiming they're at their "worst levels ever". He stated: "These repeated ATC delays and cancellations are unacceptable. We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC flight delays and flight cancellations, which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair's control."

Similarly, Wizz Air has expressed frustration, with a spokesperson commenting: "Wizz Air was prepared to ensure smooth summer operations for its passengers; however, the air traffic control system seems to be experiencing significant issues this summer."