Business travellers and mobility managers with itineraries to, from or within Italy face another wave of disruption next week after the country’s two largest federations of air-transport unions reconfirmed a 24-hour strike for Monday, 26 February, followed by a second walk-out on Friday, 7 March. The action, led by the Air Traffic Trade Association and supported by ground-handling, cabin-crew and pilot unions, was originally scheduled for 16 February but was postponed by the government during the Winter Olympics traffic-freeze.
The strike will begin at 00:01 and end at 24:00 local time on each date. Under Italy’s minimum-service laws, a skeleton flight programme will be protected during peak public-interest time-bands (07:00-10:00 and 18:00-21:00) but carriers warn that wide-scale cancellations and crew re-rostering will cascade across the entire network. AirHelp estimates that the 26 February action alone could affect more than 1,800 departures at Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Linate, Venice Marco Polo and Verona airports, potentially stranding 270,000 passengers. (safeabroad.com)
Pay and roster harmonisation remain the core grievances. Negotiations with employers stalled after management offered a 2.8 % wage adjustment versus unions’ demand for 6 % to match inflation. Unions are also pressing for guaranteed rest periods under the new European Flight Time Limitations that Italy must transpose by April.
![Italy’s Aviation Unions Confirm 24-Hour National Strike on 26 February & 7 March]()
Amid the wider disruption, travellers should also double-check that their passport and visa formalities are in order. VisaHQ’s Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers an instant eligibility checker, downloadable invitation templates and expedited courier options that can shave days off consular processing—particularly useful if strike rescheduling forces a last-minute change of routing or departure airport.
For mobility programmes the timing is awkward: many multinationals are moving post-Olympic project teams and seasonal staff at the end of February. Travel managers are being advised to shift critical trips to 25 or 27 February, allow overnight buffers, and instruct travellers to travel with carry-on only to facilitate re-routing. Rail alternatives—particularly the Milan-Rome high-speed service—are expected to sell out quickly.
Under EU261, passengers on cancelled flights are entitled to re-routing or refunds but not compensation, because strikes by airport or ATC staff qualify as “extraordinary circumstances”. Companies therefore need to budget for hotel and subsistence out of policy. Insurers recommend issuing written travel advisories to preserve duty-of-care documentation.
The strike will begin at 00:01 and end at 24:00 local time on each date. Under Italy’s minimum-service laws, a skeleton flight programme will be protected during peak public-interest time-bands (07:00-10:00 and 18:00-21:00) but carriers warn that wide-scale cancellations and crew re-rostering will cascade across the entire network. AirHelp estimates that the 26 February action alone could affect more than 1,800 departures at Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Linate, Venice Marco Polo and Verona airports, potentially stranding 270,000 passengers. (safeabroad.com)
Pay and roster harmonisation remain the core grievances. Negotiations with employers stalled after management offered a 2.8 % wage adjustment versus unions’ demand for 6 % to match inflation. Unions are also pressing for guaranteed rest periods under the new European Flight Time Limitations that Italy must transpose by April.
Amid the wider disruption, travellers should also double-check that their passport and visa formalities are in order. VisaHQ’s Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers an instant eligibility checker, downloadable invitation templates and expedited courier options that can shave days off consular processing—particularly useful if strike rescheduling forces a last-minute change of routing or departure airport.
For mobility programmes the timing is awkward: many multinationals are moving post-Olympic project teams and seasonal staff at the end of February. Travel managers are being advised to shift critical trips to 25 or 27 February, allow overnight buffers, and instruct travellers to travel with carry-on only to facilitate re-routing. Rail alternatives—particularly the Milan-Rome high-speed service—are expected to sell out quickly.
Under EU261, passengers on cancelled flights are entitled to re-routing or refunds but not compensation, because strikes by airport or ATC staff qualify as “extraordinary circumstances”. Companies therefore need to budget for hotel and subsistence out of policy. Insurers recommend issuing written travel advisories to preserve duty-of-care documentation.
