Air traffic controllers’ strike on 30 September: ITA Airways cancels 29 per cent of its flights
Disruption in Italian airspace due to the four-hour strike called by Uilt at ENAV. Here are the airline’s statements, the reasons behind the protest, and the schedule of upcoming public transport strikes.
Key points
Flights are at risk on Wednesday 30 September due to strike action involving ENAV air traffic controllers at both national and local levels in the aviation sector, who will be on strike for four hours (from 1.00 pm to 5.00 pm). ITA Airways has announced the cancellation of around 29 per cent of its scheduled flights for the day, but disruption is also expected on flights operated by other airlines.
The UILT air traffic controllers’ strike
A four-hour strike by Enav and Techno Sky staff has been called by Uiltrasporti from 1.00 pm to 5.00 pm on 30 September nationwide, and also among Enav air traffic controllers at the airports in Bologna, Bari, the Rome office on Via Appia Nuova, Linate and Naples. At the Rome headquarters, the Uilt strike will cover the final four hours of the working day on 30 September.
UILT states that the industrial action stems from the ‘lack of responses to numerous outstanding disputes and the absence of progress in negotiations’ with ENAV. Among the main reasons behind the protest, the UILT highlights “the failure to renew the supplementary company agreement, the loss of workers’ purchasing power, staff shortages, issues with shift organisation and delays in infrastructure investment’, as well as ‘specific problems at various operational sites and at the head office in Rome’.
Guidance from Ita Airways
Ita Airways has asked all passengers who have booked a flight on the day of the strike to check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport, either on the ita-airways.com website under the ‘Flight Status’ section, or by contacting the travel agent where they purchased their ticket.
Passengers who have purchased an Ita Airways ticket to travel on 30 September, in the event of cancellation or a change to their flight schedule, may change their booking without incurring any penalty or request a refund of their ticket (only if the flight has been cancelled or has departed more than 60 minutes early or has been delayed by 5 hours or more) no later than 7 October by calling +39 06 85960020 from Italia and abroad, or by contacting the travel agency where they purchased their ticket.
