Italian airport strikes, September 2026
The strike has been called but has not started. It can still be called off; check your flight status before travelling. Last checked 2026-09-13.
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.
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 may include air transport. 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
- Rome Fiumicino (FCO)
- Rome Ciampino (CIA)
- Florence (FLR)
- Pisa (PSA)
- Milan Malpensa (MXP)
- Milan Linate (LIN)
- Naples (NAP)
- Venice (VCE)
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 claim | Does it survive an airport strike? |
|---|---|
| Compensation for the cancellation itself | Unlikely — the cause sits outside the airline |
| Meals and refreshments while you wait | Owed, no cap |
| Hotel and transport if you are stuck overnight | Owed, no cap |
| Re-routing, or a full refund — your choice | Owed |
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.