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Italian airport strikes, September 2026

Over — claims still open

The disruption has ended, but the claim deadline has not. You can still file. Last checked 2026-10-02.

Four separate strikes hit Italian airports in September 2026, including a 24-hour walkout by airport security at Rome and a national air traffic control stoppage on the 30th. These are airport and ATC staff rather than airline staff, so compensation is usually not due — but care and re-routing still are.

Over — what happened on 30 September (re-checked 2 October)

The 30 September air traffic control strike went ahead and is over. ENAV and Techno Sky staff stopped work from 13:00 to 17:00, called by Uiltrasporti. ITA Airways cancelled 29% of its flights for the day in advance; at Rome Fiumicino about ten departures in the strike window were cancelled, including flights to Amsterdam, Madrid, Bordeaux and Riyadh, and the airport reported no crowding. Most passengers were moved to later flights.

If your flight was one of them, the answer below holds: no fixed compensation for an air traffic control strike, but re-routing or a refund, and meals and a hotel while you waited, are owed in full. Claim receipted costs from the airline.

The 13 September strikes went ahead: 24 hours of ADR Security at Fiumicino and Ciampino, and Toscana Aeroporti at Florence and Pisa. The easyJet crew strike also listed that day was removed from the ministry register before it started — and that one mattered, because crew are the airline's own staff and a cancellation would have carried the full payment.

26 September is off. The national multi-sector strike called by CSLE, which could have reached air transport, has been revoked and no longer appears on the Ministry of Transport's strike register.

30 September is confirmed — nine entries on the ministry register on 29 September: ENAV air traffic control staff nationally, 13:00–17:00, called by UILT-UIL — with Techno Sky, which maintains the ATC systems, out in the same window, and ENAV staff at the Milan Linate, Naples, Bologna and Bari airports and at company sites in Rome. Italian law protects flights in the 07:00–10:00 and 18:00–21:00 bands, so the afternoon is where the gaps will be.

The legal answer does not change for either: airport, handling and air traffic staff, not airline staff. Extraordinary circumstances, no fixed compensation — and the care obligations intact in full.

Work out what you are owed →

When

11 September — Poste Air Cargo flight crew, four hours (00:00–04:00). 13 September — ADR Security at Rome Fiumicino and Ciampino, 24 hours; Toscana Aeroporti, GH Toscana and Consulta at Florence and Pisa, 11:00–15:00. 26 September — a national multi-sector strike that was later revoked. 30 September — ENAV, the national air traffic control provider, 13:00–17:00.

Who is striking, and why it decides your claim

Not one of these is a strike by an airline's own staff, and that is the whole question. ADR Security screens passengers at the Rome airports; Toscana Aeroporti and GH Toscana are ground handlers; ENAV runs Italian air traffic control. Every one of them sits outside the airline that sold you the ticket, which is exactly the distinction the Court of Justice drew in Krüsemann. The one exception is 11 September — Poste Air Cargo's own crew — and that is a cargo operator, so no passenger is affected.

Compensation is unlikely — but care is still owed

A strike by airport security, ground handlers or air traffic control is normally an extraordinary circumstance: it is not part of the airline's own activity and not within its control, so Article 5(3) will usually excuse it from the fixed compensation. That removes the compensation and nothing else. The duty of care under Article 9 and the right to re-routing or a refund under Article 8 both survive it in full — and Italy adds two protections that most passengers never hear about, below.

Airports most likely to be affected

These are departures from Italian airports, so EU261 governs them at €250, €400 or €600 where compensation is due. A flight into Italy from the UK on a UK carrier falls under UK261 instead. The duty of care reads the same way in both.

What you are owed

What you can claimDoes it survive an airport strike?
Compensation for the cancellation itselfUnlikely — the cause sits outside the airline
Meals and refreshments while you waitOwed, no cap
Hotel and transport if you are stuck overnightOwed, no cap
Re-routing, or a full refund — your choiceOwed

The first row is not the whole story. Three of the four entitlements survive an extraordinary circumstance, and they are the three passengers forget to ask for.

What to do, in order

  1. Check the guaranteed-flights list before you travel. Italian law requires a list of protected flights to be published before each strike. ENAC publishes it in the days beforehand. If your flight is on it, it is supposed to operate — and if it then does not, ask the airline in writing why a guaranteed flight was cancelled.
  2. Know the protected time bands. Italian strike rules protect departures in fixed windows — generally 07:00–10:00 and 18:00–21:00. A cancellation inside a protected band is worth questioning rather than accepting, because it should not have happened.
  3. Take the care you are owed, and keep receipts. Meals, refreshments, and a hotel with transport if you are stuck overnight. Owed under Article 9 whatever the cause. If nobody hands you a voucher, pay, keep the receipt, and claim it back.
  4. If the cancellation lands a day or two after the strike, look harder. The further from the strike date your cancellation sits, the weaker the excuse. Under Pešková and Peška (C-315/15) the airline must still show it took all reasonable measures to limit the knock-on. Ask which measures it took.

Where to send it

Claim from the airline that operated the flight, not from the airport and not from ENAV — your contract is with the carrier. The airline guides list each one's own form. ENAC is the Italian enforcement body if the airline refuses your care costs.

The rules behind this

Whether a strike costs the airline money depends entirely on who walked out — the strike guide sets out the line, and the extraordinary-circumstances guide explains the second half of the test that knock-on cancellations often fail.

Other disruptions we are tracking

The full list, with dates and airports

Sources

This page reports what has been published elsewhere. It is not affiliated with any airline or authority, and the position can change — check your own flight status.

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