Flight crews employed by Avincis RW, Italy’s largest helicopter emergency-medical-service (HEMS) operator, walked off the job today (26 January) between 08:00 and 16:00 at daytime bases and until 20:00 at 24-hour installations. The national action, called by FIT-CISL, UILT-UIL, UGL-Trasporto Aereo and pilots’ union ANPAC, is the first sector-wide helicopter stoppage since 2024.
Avincis runs more than 45 HEMS and search-and-rescue helicopters across Italy, underpinning not only medical evacuations but also offshore energy crew changes and mountain-rescue contracts crucial to winter tourism. Regional authorities in Lombardy, Tuscany and Sicily activated contingency plans, dispatching military or police aircraft to cover critical routes. Several corporate shuttle flights in the oil-and-gas sector were cancelled outright, forcing personnel to reroute via fixed-wing services.
For corporate travel planners scrambling to rearrange itineraries, VisaHQ can help expedite any visa or permit adjustments necessitated by schedule changes. Its dedicated Italy page (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers up-to-date guidance on Schengen entry rules, work authorisations and document processing, allowing rotating crews and visiting engineers to remain compliant even when rerouting through alternative hubs.
Unions are demanding a new national labour contract that harmonises pay with fixed-wing flight crews and introduces fatigue-management rules aligned with EASA Part-OPS. Avincis says current margins make a blanket increase unviable without higher regional subsidies. A government-mediated session is pencilled in for 29 January, but if talks fail, unions threaten a 48-hour strike during the busy Carnival weekend in February.
Mobility managers should review travel-risk policies for executives visiting remote industrial sites or ski resorts and consider standby road or fixed-wing options until at least 30 January. Insurance teams will want to confirm whether emergency-medical-evacuation cover extends to military or private alternatives in the event of continued industrial action.
Avincis runs more than 45 HEMS and search-and-rescue helicopters across Italy, underpinning not only medical evacuations but also offshore energy crew changes and mountain-rescue contracts crucial to winter tourism. Regional authorities in Lombardy, Tuscany and Sicily activated contingency plans, dispatching military or police aircraft to cover critical routes. Several corporate shuttle flights in the oil-and-gas sector were cancelled outright, forcing personnel to reroute via fixed-wing services.
For corporate travel planners scrambling to rearrange itineraries, VisaHQ can help expedite any visa or permit adjustments necessitated by schedule changes. Its dedicated Italy page (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers up-to-date guidance on Schengen entry rules, work authorisations and document processing, allowing rotating crews and visiting engineers to remain compliant even when rerouting through alternative hubs.
Unions are demanding a new national labour contract that harmonises pay with fixed-wing flight crews and introduces fatigue-management rules aligned with EASA Part-OPS. Avincis says current margins make a blanket increase unviable without higher regional subsidies. A government-mediated session is pencilled in for 29 January, but if talks fail, unions threaten a 48-hour strike during the busy Carnival weekend in February.
Mobility managers should review travel-risk policies for executives visiting remote industrial sites or ski resorts and consider standby road or fixed-wing options until at least 30 January. Insurance teams will want to confirm whether emergency-medical-evacuation cover extends to military or private alternatives in the event of continued industrial action.
