Italy’s simmering aviation labour dispute boiled over on Saturday, 6 December, when unions representing baggage handlers, security screeners and ramp agents downed tools between 10:00 and 18:00. Pilots and cabin crew at Vueling joined for the full eight hours, while Malta Air (a Ryanair operator) pilots staged a four-hour stoppage at midday.
The walk-out paralysed passenger operations at every major airport—from Malpensa and Fiumicino to Naples and Catania—and dozens of regional fields. Consumer group Codacons estimates that more than 1,000 flights were pre-emptively cancelled, upending travel plans for roughly 250,000 passengers at the start of Italy’s Immaculate Conception holiday weekend. Flag-carrier ITA Airways alone axed 133 domestic and international rotations.
![Nation-wide Airport Staff Strike Cancels 1,000+ Flights Ahead of Holiday Weekend]()
Unions are demanding wage hikes, Sunday back-pay and uniform allowances across Italy’s fragmented ground-handling market. Employers counter that margins remain razor-thin after two pandemic years and a summer of record fuel prices. A 5 December mediation session at the Ministry of Transport ended without agreement, triggering the strike.
For corporate mobility managers the timing is painful. Early December is the last big conference and expatriate-home-leave window before Christmas. Firms scrambled to reroute staff via hub airports in Zurich, Nice and Vienna, or postponed trips entirely. Travel-risk consultants reminded travellers of EU 261/2004 compensation rights and advised hand luggage only.
Transport Minister Matteo Salvini has summoned unions, ENAC and employers for fresh talks on 9 December, warning that the government may impose minimum-service rules over the peak holiday fortnight if no deal emerges.
The walk-out paralysed passenger operations at every major airport—from Malpensa and Fiumicino to Naples and Catania—and dozens of regional fields. Consumer group Codacons estimates that more than 1,000 flights were pre-emptively cancelled, upending travel plans for roughly 250,000 passengers at the start of Italy’s Immaculate Conception holiday weekend. Flag-carrier ITA Airways alone axed 133 domestic and international rotations.
Unions are demanding wage hikes, Sunday back-pay and uniform allowances across Italy’s fragmented ground-handling market. Employers counter that margins remain razor-thin after two pandemic years and a summer of record fuel prices. A 5 December mediation session at the Ministry of Transport ended without agreement, triggering the strike.
For corporate mobility managers the timing is painful. Early December is the last big conference and expatriate-home-leave window before Christmas. Firms scrambled to reroute staff via hub airports in Zurich, Nice and Vienna, or postponed trips entirely. Travel-risk consultants reminded travellers of EU 261/2004 compensation rights and advised hand luggage only.
Transport Minister Matteo Salvini has summoned unions, ENAC and employers for fresh talks on 9 December, warning that the government may impose minimum-service rules over the peak holiday fortnight if no deal emerges.
