Multiple unions representing ground-handling agents, air-traffic technicians, regional airline crews and urban-transit workers staged overlapping 24- and 48-hour strikes starting Friday, 9 January. The action shut down baggage-handling services at Milan Linate, Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino and Venice Marco Polo airports between 10:00 and 18:00, forcing ITA Airways to cancel 20 domestic rotations and prompting low-cost carriers to consolidate flights.
The Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) released a list of protected flights—early-morning and evening slots plus lifeline services to Sardinia and Sicily—but business travellers faced long queues and missed connections. At the same time, four-hour stoppages on urban buses and metros in Naples, Bologna and Turin complicated airport transfers.
![Co-ordinated Airport and Local-Transport Strikes on 9–10 January Snarl Business Travel]()
Rail staff joined the protest later that evening (see separate article), creating a nationwide mobility crunch as the first full business week of 2026 wrapped up. Unions cite stalled wage talks and inflation that exceeded 5 percent in 2025; employers counter that travel disruption risks Italy’s reputation as a conference and manufacturing hub.
While corporate travel teams handle rebookings and route changes, VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) can fast-track any urgent Italy visa applications, extensions or documentation updates that arise from these delays. The service offers real-time status tracking and expert document checks, helping stranded executives and event delegates avoid extra red tape during the strikes.
Travel-risk teams should verify EU 261 re-routing and care obligations, pre-book hotel rooms near hubs, and advise travellers to keep digital copies of boarding passes and receipts for compensation claims. Looking ahead, labour analysts see little progress in collective bargaining and warn of further actions coinciding with February trade fairs in Milan and Bologna.
The Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) released a list of protected flights—early-morning and evening slots plus lifeline services to Sardinia and Sicily—but business travellers faced long queues and missed connections. At the same time, four-hour stoppages on urban buses and metros in Naples, Bologna and Turin complicated airport transfers.
Rail staff joined the protest later that evening (see separate article), creating a nationwide mobility crunch as the first full business week of 2026 wrapped up. Unions cite stalled wage talks and inflation that exceeded 5 percent in 2025; employers counter that travel disruption risks Italy’s reputation as a conference and manufacturing hub.
While corporate travel teams handle rebookings and route changes, VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) can fast-track any urgent Italy visa applications, extensions or documentation updates that arise from these delays. The service offers real-time status tracking and expert document checks, helping stranded executives and event delegates avoid extra red tape during the strikes.
Travel-risk teams should verify EU 261 re-routing and care obligations, pre-book hotel rooms near hubs, and advise travellers to keep digital copies of boarding passes and receipts for compensation claims. Looking ahead, labour analysts see little progress in collective bargaining and warn of further actions coinciding with February trade fairs in Milan and Bologna.
