Winter Travel 2025: Strikes, Snow, Passenger Rights and the Essential Expat Survival Guide

Three dynamics are colliding this year:

1. A colder winter than recent years across much of Europe.
2. Ongoing social tensions in transport and public services.
3. Record demand, with expats travelling earlier, further and more often.

Seasonal forecasts point to heavy snow episodes in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia, including early in December. At the same time, rail unions in Germany, airport workers in Spain and ground staff in France have all signalled possible strikes in the weeks around Christmas and New Year.

For expats, that means the period from 15 December to 5 January concentrates the highest risk of delays, cancellations and last-minute rerouting. If you have key family events, residence appointments or cross-border moves planned, treat this window as the least predictable time of the year. For a complementary view focused entirely on strikes and cancellations, see our winter 2025 disruption guide (Winter 2025: strikes, delays, cancellations).

Expats arriving from Asia, Africa or North America are sometimes surprised by how quickly European weather can flip from mild to chaotic. A sunny morning can turn into heavy snow, freezing rain and low visibility by evening.

Countries and hubs typically most affected include:

• Germany: Munich and Frankfurt regularly see snow-related disruption that then cascades across the network.
• France: Lyon, Geneva, Paris-Orly and several regional airports are highly sensitive to fog and ice.
• United Kingdom: Heathrow and other major hubs become saturated as soon as snow hits, with staffing gaps during the holidays amplifying the effect.
• Switzerland and Austria: infrastructure is well adapted to winter, but intense snow and tourist surges still generate delays.

In practical terms, morning flights remain the safest bet. They leave more margin for rebooking if something goes wrong and are less exposed to knock-on delays from earlier disruptions. If you are connecting a long-haul with a short intra-European flight, avoid tight connections under two hours in mid-winter whenever possible.

In 2025, three countries are at the centre of most announced tensions:

• Germany: recurring rail strikes and occasional air-traffic-control disruptions.
• Spain: potential action among baggage handlers and ground staff in major hubs.
• France: targeted strikes around key weekends and days around Christmas and New Year.

As an expat, your goal is not to track every union press release but to build robust travel habits:

• Whenever you can, book direct flights instead of fragile multi-stop itineraries.
• Avoid short connections (under two hours) in winter, especially through delay-prone hubs.
• Check rebooking and care policies before you buy: some low-cost airlines offer minimal support, while traditional carriers have more tools.
• Subscribe to official alerts from civil aviation authorities and national rail operators.

In your broader year-end planning, combine these travel checks with our expat year-end checklist (Expat year-end checklist for Europe) and our guide to EU residency changes (EU residency changes 2025).

The European rules on passenger rights, commonly referred to as Regulation EC 261/2004 or EU261, are among the strongest in the world. They apply to:

• flights departing from an airport in the European Union, regardless of airline;
• flights operated by an EU airline to the EU, even when departing from a non-EU country.

In simplified form, you may be entitled to:

• fixed compensation between 250 and 600 euros depending on distance when cancellations or long delays are attributable to the airline;
• care in the form of refreshments, meals and sometimes hotel nights when waiting times become long;
• a full refund or rerouting to your final destination at no extra cost.

Important nuances include:

• in cases of extreme weather or airport closure, the airline normally owes care but no financial compensation;
• for internal airline strikes, courts often consider that compensation still applies;
• for air-traffic-control strikes or broad national movements, compensation is rarely granted, although care still is.

Whatever the situation, claims must be filed in writing, usually via the airline’s official form or a dedicated platform. Keep boarding passes, delay notifications and all receipts. For the health side of winter travel, pair this with our European healthcare 2025 guide (European healthcare 2025) and our article on the European Health Insurance Card (European Health Insurance Card).

Recent updates to EU rules give rail passengers in many countries minimum protections that often go unused:

• partial refunds (for example around 25 percent) after one hour of delay;
• higher refunds (for example 50 percent) after two hours;
• hotel coverage when the last train of the day is missed because of disruption.

In practice, these rights are most clearly applied in countries such as Germany, Austria and Belgium, where online claim forms are easy to find and use. France, Italy and Spain can feel more chaotic, with complicated or poorly communicated procedures.

If you are a cross-border commuter or combine multiple rail networks, take screenshots from official apps (SBB, Deutsche Bahn, SNCF, Renfe and others) and keep them with your tickets. For a deeper look at the specific situation of cross-border commuters, see our France–Switzerland 2025 guide (France–Switzerland 2025: cross-border shake-up).

Seasoned travellers, especially expats who make regular December trips, tend to follow a small set of rules:

• Arrive three hours early for European flights and at least four hours early for long-haul flights during peak holiday periods.
• Avoid checking luggage when your flight is already high-risk (evening departures, overloaded hubs, multiple connections).
• Pack a cabin bag with essentials: spare clothing, medication, chargers, key documents and basic snacks.
• Photograph departure boards and queues if the situation becomes chaotic; these images can help support later claims.

Historical data show that evening flights lose a significant share of punctuality in winter because every small delay propagates. If you are travelling with children or need to be somewhere on a specific date, choose early departures even if it means an unpleasant alarm. For more pleasant winter escapes, you can also explore our guide to Europe’s Christmas markets (Christmas markets in Europe 2025).

Many expats assume that their European Health Insurance Card or local coverage (CPAM, LAMal, GKV and others) is enough for travel. In reality these schemes mainly cover public healthcare or emergencies, not key elements such as:

• lost or stolen luggage;
• missed connections across separate tickets;
• weather-related cancellations or major events;
• replacement tickets or non-refundable hotel nights.

A dedicated travel insurance policy, even if you already live in Europe, remains a smart choice for the holiday season. Look in particular for:

• coverage of significant delays (for example beyond three hours);
• compensation for lost, stolen or delayed baggage;
• protection for cancellations due to serious illness, extreme weather or major events;
• 24/7 assistance that you can actually reach from abroad.

To choose the right mix of protection, match your travel patterns with your broader priorities (family, health, budget) and read our guides on health gaps across Europe for expats (Europe health gap for expats 2025) and on healthcare for European expats (Healthcare for European expats).

Travelling with children in winter adds complexity on several levels:

• Flight times are sometimes rescheduled less than 48 hours before departure, disrupting sleep, meals and transfer plans.
• Airlines have specific rules for strollers, car seats and family boarding that vary widely.
• Some countries ask for a parental authorisation document when only one parent travels or when surnames do not match.

To avoid last-minute stress:

• Check your airline’s exact rules on strollers, cabin bags for children and priority boarding.
• Carry a signed letter from the non-travelling parent, a copy of their passport and, if possible, a short translation into the destination country’s language.
• Plan backup options if a flight disappears from the board: nights with family or friends, budget for a hotel, or a rail alternative.

If you have recently relocated with children, pair this winter travel guide with our moving checklist (Moving abroad complete checklist) and our guides on international schooling in Europe (International schools in France 2025 and Europe’s 2025 international school rush).

Samira lives in Madrid and plans to fly to Casablanca for the holidays to see her family. She books with a major Spanish airline. The day before departure, a ground staff strike leads to the cancellation of several flights, including hers.

Here is how she handles it:

• She starts with the airline app, which automatically offers a new flight 24 hours later. She accepts while keeping screenshots of each step.
• She then contacts customer service to confirm hotel and meal coverage, clearly referring to EU passenger rights.
• She keeps every hotel and restaurant receipt and attaches them to a structured claim afterwards.
• A few weeks later, she receives both reimbursement for her expenses and fixed compensation linked to the internal strike.

This scenario shows how knowing your rights, keeping proof and staying methodical can turn a cancellation into a manageable delay instead of a logistical disaster.

Before you travel in winter as an expat in Europe, especially if you live far from family, run through this checklist:

• Store all key documents together: passport, residence permits, tickets, booking confirmations, insurance policies.
• Download offline copies of tickets and ID documents to your phone.
• Check that your European Health Insurance Card and travel insurance are valid and accessible.
• Pack a cabin bag with spare clothes, medication, chargers, adapters and snacks.
• Save emergency contacts (airline, rail operator, insurer, consulate, trusted friends or relatives).
• Prepare a realistic plan B for your most critical legs (alternative route, date or mode of transport).
• Set aside a small emergency budget for unexpected hotels or meals if you get stuck.

To put this trip in the context of your wider year, combine this checklist with our guide to winter preparation for energy and housing (Winter preparation in Europe: energy, housing and support) and our banking guides for securing payments abroad (Best banks for expats in Europe 2025 and EU banking strategies 2025).