Anger across Europe as weather and strikes bring travel chaos
Snow, strikes, the recession and a drink-driver combined to disrupt travel across Europe today as trains and flights were cancelled and motorways were blocked.
Although the first Eurostar train for four days left Paris this morning, hundreds of passengers remained stranded on both sides of the Channel.
President Sarkozy demanded an explanation for the chaos from Guillaume Pépy, the chairman of the SNCF, the French state railway network.
''I understand the anger,'' Mr Sarkozy said.
In Calais, 286 people were sheltered by the Red Cross overnight after they travelled to the port after their Eurostar trains were cancelled but failed to secure a place on a ferry.
The SNCF has also been seeking to calm travellers' anger at the turmoil caused by a labour dispute on the main Paris suburban commuter line over the past 13 days.
Drivers on the RER A line are on strike in a dispute about bonuses that is already estimated to have cost the French economy €50 million (£45 million).
The disruption was exacerbated when services on the RER C – another important commuter line – were suspended after a drunken motorist hit the roadside and knocked a concrete slab on to a train.
The SNCF took out national newspaper advertisements to apologise to users and promise action to improve its service today.
Elsewhere in France, roads and train services were returning to normal as severe weather conditions eased.
But in Italy, Malpensa airport in Milan was closed because of the cold snap, which also forced the cancellation of a succession of flights at Linate, the city's second airport.
Flights were also cancelled in Rome, Turin and Genoa and the city of Bergamo in northern Italy was covered in 1ft (30cm) of snow.
Schools in many northern Italian cities were shut for the day, as were at least four sections of motorways in the region. At least 5 per cent of trains were cancelled across Italy.
In Ireland, forecasters warned of overnight temperatures as low as -6C and freezing fog and black ice caused havoc on the roads. Police advised motorists to put off journeys wherever possible.
Air Comet, the Spanish low-cost carrier that specialises in flights between Europe and Latin America, also suspended all its services, although not because of the weather.
The move came after the High Court in London ordered its fleet of leased aircraft to be impounded and told the company not to sell any more tickets. The court upheld a request by Germany's Nord Bank, which claims it is owed $25 million (£16 million).
The carrier is believed to have total debts of $143 million.
timesonline.co.uk
22.12.2009
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