A nationwide protest by Italian air traffic controllers, pilots and flight attendants from airline Vueling, and staff from Air Dolomiti will go ahead on Wednesday, Italian trade union Filt CGIL has confirmed, as Italian airline ITA announced flight cancellations on several routes.
The strike will last for four hours on Wednesday, from 1pm to 5pm, and is expected to hit airports across the country including in Rome and Milan.
The announcement of the latest in a long series of transport strikes in Italy came following delays to flights to and from Italian airports caused by the knock-on effects of air traffic control strikes in France over the long weekend.
Italy’s ITA Airways confirmed on Tuesday that it had already cancelled around 50 flights ahead of the strike action. (See a full list of the affected routes on the airline’s website here.)
READ ALSO: The transport strikes to expect in Italy this spring
ITA said in a statement that it would rebook “the largest possible number of travellers involved in the cancellations on the first available flights” and said that 90 percent of passengers affected “will be able to fly on the same day.”
Rome airport management company Aeroporti di Roma said “cancellations or delays could occur” and advised passengers due to fly from Fiumicino or Ciampino airports on Wednesday to contact their airline to check the status of their flight.
A seguito di uno sciopero dei controllori di volo Enav di Roma previsto per mercoledì 3 maggio, si potrebbero verificare cancellazioni o ritardi. Si suggerisce di contattare la compagnia aerea di riferimento per informazioni sullo stato del proprio volo. pic.twitter.com/6knpvZ4hII
— Aeroporti di Roma (@AeroportidiRoma) May 2, 2023
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Italy’s civil aviation authority ENAC has published a list of flights that are guaranteed to go ahead during Wednesday’s strike. Under Italian law, flights scheduled to leave between 7-10am and 6-9pm are protected from strike action.
The Local will publish further updates as they become available.
You can keep up to date with the latest strike news from Italy HERE.