Revealed on
Hundreds of travellers might see their summer time vacation plans thrown into mayhem this weekend because of deliberate Italian strikes.
Airport employees will stage a four-hour nationwide strike on 26 July, doubtlessly resulting in dozens of flight delays and cancellations.
Calls for for improved security, higher working situations and work-life steadiness and nationwide contract renewals are driving this industrial motion.
The place will flights be affected by strikes?
Main airways reminiscent of EasyJet, Ryanair, British Airways, Wizz Air, Tui, Volotea and ITA Airways may very well be affected, as baggage handlers, floor workers and airport employees are anticipated to stroll out at each main Italian airport from 1pm to 5pm on Saturday.
This contains the Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate, Rome Fiumicino, Florence, Naples and Venice airports. At Milan Linate airport, Swissport gate companies and check-in workers will even strike.
Earlier this month, Italian strikes brought about 73 incoming and outgoing flights to be cancelled in in the future. This included flights from Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa, Venice Marco Polo and Naples.
Spanish flights are additionally more likely to be impacted this weekend, as price range Spanish airline Volotea’s crew and pilots stage a strike on Saturday as effectively. This might have a widespread influence throughout key European air journey routes. The airline presently flies to greater than 100 European cities.
What can travellers do?
Whereas these upcoming strikes will little question trigger inconveniences, there are a number of steps travellers can take to remain ready and higher knowledgeable.
This contains checking the Italian Ministry of Transport’s web site for official strike data in addition to asking particular airways and airports for the most recent updates. Travellers are additionally suggested to substantiate the standing of their flight earlier than leaving for the airport.
If journey plans can’t be modified round strike dates, avoiding peak hours whereas heading to the airport and arriving with loads of time to spare may help as effectively.
Below Italian legislation, minimal service ranges are required throughout strike motion, which ensures that some flights function as regular. Flights scheduled between 7am and 10am and between 6pm and 9pm normally fall underneath these laws and are more likely to not be impacted.
The Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) additionally publishes an inventory of assured flights, which travellers can verify for different preparations. Flights to sure islands, reminiscent of to and from Sardinia, Sicily and Lampedusa, are sometimes excluded from strikes as effectively.
Travellers could also be entitled to compensation in some circumstances.
“Below EU Regulation 261/2004, when disruption to a passenger’s journey is attributable to an airline’s personal staff, such because the deliberate Volotea workers strike, passengers could also be eligible for compensation. It’s because situations like these are thought of inside the airline’s accountability,” Darina Kovacheva, head of Authorized at SkyRefund, mentioned.
She added: “Volotea passengers whose flights are both delayed or cancelled at brief discover because of this industrial motion could also be entitled to compensation of £250–£520 (€286.9-€453.2), based mostly on the space of their flight.”