With less than two weeks to go before the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics close, Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has issued an emergency injunction postponing a 24-hour airport strike that six aviation unions had scheduled for 16 February. Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini signed the order late on Friday after the civil-aviation regulator warned that the walk-out could strand up to 27 000 passengers and cripple connections to venues in Lombardy and the Dolomites.
Under Italy’s strike-law framework, unions can be compelled to modify industrial action when “global events of public importance” are at risk. The injunction shifts the protest to 26 February—after the Olympics but during the Games’ hand-over window—buying airlines time to re-accommodate travellers. Flag-carrier ITA Airways had 314 departures booked for 16 February, most outside the legally protected flight windows (07:00–10:00 and 18:00–21:00), while Vueling, easyJet and ground-handling firms at Milan’s two airports were also set to join.
![Italy blocks nationwide airport strikes to protect Olympic travel]()
Business-travel managers should alert travellers that flights on 26 February could still face cancellations, especially on domestic and European shuttle routes. Carriers will publish revised schedules early next week; flexibility clauses and interline agreements may allow re-routing via Zurich, Munich or Vienna. Travellers heading to board meetings in Milan’s financial district are advised to keep same-day rail alternatives in reserve.
For any travellers who have yet to finalise their entry paperwork, VisaHQ offers a swift digital solution for securing Italian visas and monitoring real-time document requirements, easing the administrative load during this period of heightened transport uncertainty: https://www.visahq.com/italy/
The decree is part of a wider February transport storm. Railway staff plan a 24-hour national stoppage on 27–28 February, and airport ground-handling crews have threatened fresh action for 7 March. Although the government can intervene again, corporate mobility teams should build buffer days into itineraries and remind employees of Italy’s guaranteed-service bands, which assure only skeleton operations during strikes.
Under Italy’s strike-law framework, unions can be compelled to modify industrial action when “global events of public importance” are at risk. The injunction shifts the protest to 26 February—after the Olympics but during the Games’ hand-over window—buying airlines time to re-accommodate travellers. Flag-carrier ITA Airways had 314 departures booked for 16 February, most outside the legally protected flight windows (07:00–10:00 and 18:00–21:00), while Vueling, easyJet and ground-handling firms at Milan’s two airports were also set to join.
Business-travel managers should alert travellers that flights on 26 February could still face cancellations, especially on domestic and European shuttle routes. Carriers will publish revised schedules early next week; flexibility clauses and interline agreements may allow re-routing via Zurich, Munich or Vienna. Travellers heading to board meetings in Milan’s financial district are advised to keep same-day rail alternatives in reserve.
For any travellers who have yet to finalise their entry paperwork, VisaHQ offers a swift digital solution for securing Italian visas and monitoring real-time document requirements, easing the administrative load during this period of heightened transport uncertainty: https://www.visahq.com/italy/
The decree is part of a wider February transport storm. Railway staff plan a 24-hour national stoppage on 27–28 February, and airport ground-handling crews have threatened fresh action for 7 March. Although the government can intervene again, corporate mobility teams should build buffer days into itineraries and remind employees of Italy’s guaranteed-service bands, which assure only skeleton operations during strikes.
