What's in the news?.

[sws97sdg]

Whats the story with the coaches parking for the boat trips in the port, FB showing rows of coaches along the front parked on the road, with the tourist walking down the road blocking it off? Is this permanent?

 

[Sparky]

This is not good i am afraid :-

July will be rocked by industrial action.
The Balearic tourist industry’s worst nightmare came true yesterday, the hostelry sector and coach drivers officially informed the relevant authorities that they will be taking strike action on July 20, 21 and 22. Full story here :- Majorca Daily Bulletin . Grupo Serra Newspaper . Daily Press . News in English . Online Digital Information . Palma of Majorca Balearic Islands Spain. majorca daily bulletin. grupo serra newspaper . daily press . news in english . online digital info

 

[Dunk]

Hi, this is not good news at all, we arrive on 21st around 6pm with 3 kids, juts enough time for chaos to build up. Always use one of the National Hire companies as queue is usually small, booked with AVIS this year, but this has the potential to be a'rugby scrum'. Maybe a bit naive, but is there any kind of contingency plan, or do people just get left at the airport or attempt to make their own way?

 

[emmalou]

This is not good i am afraid :-

July will be rocked by industrial action.
The Balearic tourist industry’s worst nightmare came true yesterday, the hostelry sector and coach drivers officially informed the relevant authorities that they will be taking strike action on July 20, 21 and 22. Full story here :- Majorca Daily Bulletin . Grupo Serra Newspaper . Daily Press . News in English . Online Digital Information . Palma of Majorca Balearic Islands Spain. majorca daily bulletin. grupo serra newspaper . daily press . news in english . online digital info

Last year we got caught up in this, we had booked resort hopper to travel back to the airport, and they didn't turn up, as the coach drivers were on strike last August, very stressful at 8am in the morning, with my two daughters and my parents in tow!!! Luckily this year we come out on the 17th July and return on the 27th July so should be ok. If anyone has arranged resort hopper for these dates I would strongly advise thinking about an alternative form of transport, or at least budget for a taxi if necessary.

 

[Sparky]

Lets hope that they can come to an agreement as i am afraid it will only cause more damage to the island's tourism industry, resulting in job losses .

 

[lollipop]

we should have some sympathy with the coach drivers as I have heard that the transunion drivers have not been paid for 4 months!!!

 

[Sparky]

Absolutely Lollipop nobody should be expected to work for nothing , as i said let's hope it can be sorted out quickly .

 

[URI]

I respect the drivers need to take action but feel for the people who have saved and looked forward to their summer holiday all year. Is this only affecting transfer companies or do the public services workers join in (public bus services and trains)?

 

[Sparky]

I respect the drivers need to take action but feel for the people who have saved and looked forward to their summer holiday all year. Is this only affecting transfer companies or do the public services workers join in (public bus services and trains)?

URI Transunión workers are due to strike on 16 and 17 July because they are owed three months wages. This is in the public transport system and is therefore in addition to the planned strike on 21 and 22 July by workers in the private system which operates the transfers and trips. Transunión operates the bus services in Pollensa.

 

[emmalou]

phew glad I booked a taxi this year instead of resort hopper when we come out on the 17th!!

 

[sleepyboaby]

We have booked coach transfers when we come out on the 17th so i take it we are okay then? On the other hand our friend is due out on the 21st so i take it he will be affected by the strike?
So what happens if you have booked transfers included in your holiday.Is it a case of paying for a taxi to take you to your resort or do the travel companies make alternative arrangements to get you there bearing in mind the transfers have already been paid for.

 

[Sparky]

I think the tour operators make alternative arrangements but you can expect long waits . Luckily i have never been in this situation, perhaps someone else can give us more info.

 

[URI]

Well if they are owed 3 months wages they have every right to do something about it, if it affects our plans we can find an alternative.

 

[Bekki]

Resorthoppa

Hi everyone,

Just seen the messages about industrial action. I really feel for the workers who haven't been paid for months and I can see why they've chosen the dates aounf 20-22nd July. Just wondering if anyone can confirm whether resorthoppa would be affected. I've always used them and never had any problems but fear there maybe this year as we rrive on Sat 21st. Any news would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Bekki

 

[Sparky]

Hi Bekki i don't know if it will affect Resort Hopper, perhaps you could send them an email .

 

[emmalou]

Hi bekki ... It effected resort hopper last year when we got stranded. The trouble was that some areas of majorca where effected more than others so when i phoned resort hopper to find out if they would be picking us up from puerto pollensa they didn't know "wait and see if one turns up!". We decided not to take the chance and legged it to the taxi rank before the rush. I do know that some people missed our flight because of it. Resort Hopper advise you try and claim for the cost of the taxi through yr holiday insurance but i had no luck and resort hopper wont give us a refund either.

 

[Mark]

Is it a case of paying for a taxi to take you to your resort .

The problem is that if there are no coaches then the Taxis wont be able to meet the demand.

Think of the flights arriving every few minutes on the busiest weekend of the year, it's normally a smooth operation of people walking through the airport, collecting cases and if on a package holiday walking out to the coach park to board a coach to their resort/hotel and it just works OK.

If the coach park is empty what is everyone going to do.

Hopefully there will be some organised queuing system planned for the taxis. ( I doubt it as it's Spain )

It will not be a good weekend for the holiday reps at the airport greeting the flights full of 'package' holidaymakers expecting everything to be organised...

 

[joelise80]

Several years ago we got stuck for 40 hours in Menorca as flights stopped arriving as no one could get out of the airport due to the drivers strike, so we couldn't get home we eventually went back in to Stanstead and I think if we had waited for the flight back to Leeds we would have been there for another few days
This was such a terrible time with two young boys, we couldn't even get into the airport building the first night and spent the night outside on the pavement, we didn't fly again for 5 years, holidaying in the UK instead.
I would say to anyone caught in this situation make sure you have plenty of supplies and money, and avoid going to the airport unless you are sure you are flying.

 

[its cd]

Personally I wouldn't risk waiting to see if it can be resolved. Why not hire a car on line from one of the car hire companies that only take your cash on arrival and levy no cancellation fee ..... There are several who do this

Sure if the strikes do go ahead the hire queues will be big and the airport will be busy bug at least you will know you have transport pre arranged.

You can them leave your final decision te risking the coach transfer/ taxi option until just before you go

Car hire is expensive in July but you could always just hire for 3 days with a company that will allow you to leave the car in pp after your 3 days

 

[Dunk]

Hi Good advice, CD, only use the cheaper option of returning the car back to the airport 3/4 days later when its all over
and get the bus/train back to PP, no luggage to worry about, and even leave the other half and kids on the beach