This year, CERN will be closed from Saturday, 22 December 2018 to Sunday, 6 January 2019 inclusive. The first working day of the new year will be Monday, 7 January 2019.

As is the case every year, the only persons who will be entitled to enter the CERN site during the end-of-year closure are those who have received authorisation to do so for strictly professional reasons such as stand-by service and indispensable maintenance work.

Each department and, in particular, each experiment’s technical coordinator, is responsible for compiling a list of the people in receipt of such authorisation by Friday, 21 December 2018 at the latest.

Unlike in previous years, it is no longer necessary to include members of the personnel of outside companies in these lists. Any members of the personnel of outside companies who are required to work on the CERN site during the closure must have a valid AET (notice of work done outside normal working hours). Note that each AET will be limited to the time needed to perform the work in question.

During the period when the Laboratory is closed, i.e. after 21 December, anyone who needs to enter the CERN site for an urgent reason and without the prior authorisation of her/his department or her/his experiment’s technical coordinator will be obliged to submit an access request (select the “CERNXMAS” permission) that can be signed by the Security Service or the CCC (TI) after assessing its merits. The “CERNXMAS” permission option will not be available in the ADAMS system prior to 22 December. This provision does not apply to members of the personnel of outside companies since they must have a valid AET.

You are also kindly asked to note that all CERN services (including the restaurants and the library) will be closed during the end-of-year closure.

We thank you for your cooperation and wish you a very happy end-of-year holiday!