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December 13th – 24-hour general strike
Airline, rail and public transport services around Italy may be subject to delays or cancellations on Friday, December 13th, due to a 24-hour general strike affecting both public and private operators.
The protest was called by union USB (Unione Sindacale di Base) union in late October in protest against the current administration’s economic policies, which “increase social inequalities” and “encourage deindustrialisation,” the union said in a statement.
Besides the airline, rail and public transport sectors, ferry services to and from Italy’s major islands, Sicily and Sardinia, and motorway toll booth services may also be affected.
Further information on guaranteed services (servizi garantiti) is expected to become available closer to the date of the strike.
December 15th – Air traffic control strikes
Passengers flying to, from or within Italy may face disruption on Sunday, December 15th, as staff at TechnoSky, which manages hardware and software systems used to provide air navigation services across Italy, plan to hold a 24-hour strike.
On the same date, ENAV air traffic controllers at Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate, Bergamo Orio al Serio plan to stage a four-hour strike – from 1pm to 5pm.
The protests, which are backed by some of Italy’s major transport unions, including FILT-CGIL and UILT-UIL, may result in flight delays or cancellations at airports around the country.
Under Italian law, services scheduled to depart from 7am to 10am and from 6pm to 9pm are protected from strike action and should therefore go ahead as normal on December 15th.
January 10th – Four-hour national public transport strike
Commuters around Italy may experience delays or cancellations on Friday, January 10th, as staff at public transport operators plan to strike for four hours.
The timing and impact of the strike, which was called by the FAISA-CONFAIL union, will vary from city to city.
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The walkout is expected to affect all types of local public transport, from surface services (buses, trams, commuter trains, water buses and ferries) to underground metro lines, but shouldn’t impact long-distance rail services and taxis.
Under Italy’s strike laws, public transport operators are required to provide a number of essential services during protests falling on weekdays to allow commuters to travel to and from work. Details on such services will be made available closer to the date of the strike.
January 12th – Rail strike in Florence’s metropolitan area
Train services in the Florence metropolitan area may be disrupted by an eight-hour walkout involving staff at railway network manager Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) on Sunday, January 12th.
The walkout may affect local services as well as long-distance journeys departing from, calling at or arriving in Florence.
Further information about the protest’s impact will be available on the RFI website closer to January 12th.
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January 25th – Florence tram strike
Staff at Gest, which operates tram services in Florence, plan to walk out for 24 hours on Saturday, January 25th.
Tram passengers may face delays or cancellations as a result of the protest.
Gest may not provide essential services on the day of the strike as this falls on a weekend day.
Exemption period for air travel strikes
Anyone flying to or from Italy between December 18th and January 7th can breathe easy: strikes (at least Italian ones) are unlikely to affect your journey between these dates.
Industrial action impacting Italy’s air transport sector is not allowed during the holiday period to protect Italy’s tourism industry.
That said, the air travel franchigia (‘exemption window’) doesn’t prevent other types of transport strikes from going ahead in Italy over that period.
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How bad are strikes in Italy?
Strikes in Italy are frequent but not all of them cause significant disruption for travellers.
The severity of disruption caused by any strike in the country largely depends on how many staff in any part of the transport sector decide to participate on the day.
Even in the case of highly disruptive strikes, some essential services (or servizi minimi) are guaranteed to run at peak times. This goes for all transport sectors, from local public transport to rail and air travel.
What to do if your flight is cancelled
If you’re flying to, from or within the EU, you have the right to either a refund or rebooking, and the airline must always offer you the choice.
If you’re booked onto a later flight and have to wait for more than two hours, you’re entitled to assistance such as food and drink.
And in the case of cancellations at short notice you may also be able to claim compensation.
Find full details here.
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What to do if your train is cancelled
If a pre-booked rail service is cancelled due to strike action in Italy, passengers are normally allowed to travel on other equivalent services or are entitled to a refund.
For further information on how to request a refund from Italy’s two major train companies Trenitalia and Italo, see our article.
Should other relevant walkouts be announced in the coming weeks, we will update this article accordingly.
Remember: you can see a full rundown of all the walkouts planned for the coming weeks and months on the Italian transport ministry’s strike calendar (available in Italian).