by InTrieste
Air travelers across Italy are expected to experience delays and cancellations on Tuesday, July 21, as strikes involving airline crews and airport ground staff disrupt operations nationwide, marking the beginning of a week of transportation walkouts.
The largest action involves low-cost carrier easyJet, where pilots and cabin crew represented by the USB Lavoro Privato union are staging a 24-hour strike from midnight to 11:59 p.m. The industrial action affects the airline’s operations across Italy.
Cabin crew employed by UAB DAT LT, the regional carrier operating routes to Lampedusa, Pantelleria and Ancona, are also participating in a separate 24-hour strike.
Airport ground handling services are expected to be affected as well. Staff at Milan Malpensa Airport, including FedEx employees and workers from handling companies Alha and MLE BCube, are walking out alongside personnel at airports in Lamezia Terme, Naples, Salerno, Olbia and Alghero. The disruptions could slow baggage handling, check-in procedures and boarding operations, including for airlines not directly involved in the strikes.
Under Italian regulations governing transport strikes, some flights must continue operating. Italy’s civil aviation authority, ENAC, said flights departing between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. and between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., along with other designated essential services, will be guaranteed.
Passengers are advised to check directly with their airline for updates before traveling. Under European Union passenger rights rules, travelers whose flights are canceled on short notice or delayed by more than three hours may be entitled to compensation or rebooking, depending on the circumstances.
The aviation strikes are the first in a series of transport disruptions planned this week. A 24-hour strike by employees of ferry operator Grandi Navi Veloci is scheduled from midday on July 22 until midday on July 23, followed by a nationwide rail strike from 9 p.m. on July 23 until 9 p.m. on July 24.
The rail stoppage will affect high-speed, intercity and regional services operated by the Ferrovie dello Stato group, including Trenitalia and Trenord, while Italo services are not expected to be affected. Trenitalia said protected long-distance services will continue to operate, and regional trains will run during the guaranteed service windows of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Additional local transport strikes are also planned on July 24 in Verona, the Marche region, Puglia and Salerno.
