From Disneyland Paris to rugby, travellers face disruption

Travel arrangements to France are likely to remain disturbed for some time, with those heading to Paris for next weekend’s Munster rugby match advised to expect disrpruption.

The French government has asked for extra checks at all airports and with up to 194 flights from Ireland - North and South – each week, a significant number of regular travellers are likely to have to reschedule connections.

Aer Lingus said intending passengers who hold a booking for travel between either Dublin or Cork and Paris from Monday November 16th to Sunday, November 22nd inclusive can change their booking free of charge or apply for a full refund.

The airline said it would continue to monitor the situation in Paris following attacks in the city last Friday.

Aer France said those who hold tickets for flights valid for travel from November 17 to 22, may postpone their trip until December 15th, 2015 at no extra cost, once the new trip is in the same booking class.

Ryanair said customers departing France should allow extra time for security. It said it is operating a full schedule of flights to and from all French airports.

French prime minister Manuel Valls said Paris will go ahead with a global climate change summit in the city at the end of the month. The conference will see almost 120 world leaders gather for the opening day of the conference which runs from November 30th to December 11th conference, which is due to agree a global deal to limit rising greenhouse gas emissions.

In Washington, officials confirmed that both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry still planned to attend.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Irish people in France should continue to use caution and to follow the instructions of French authorities.

The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) said number of Irish travellers to France were “significant” with “a lot of business being done”. Chief executive Pat Dawson said the visitors fell into three categories those who travel for tourism, those who travel for business and those who use airports like Charles de Gaulle in Paris as a hub for onward connections.

Mr Dawson said 20,000 Irish people a year visit Disneyland Paris and a considerable number of those would have booked holidays for early next year. He said Disneyland was offering free changes to itineraries already booked for between now and the end of March. Visitors who change to a higher season would have to pay the difference, he said. Those who cancel would get a refund.

Disneyland Paris will be closed on Tuesday as part of France’s three-day national mourning period. The theme park, which receives 14.8 million visits per year, said it was too early to discuss the financial impact of the weekend attacks in the city.