Holidaymakers flying with easyJet between the UK and Italy have been warned of strikes planned for next week.
The Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has announced a strike by easyJet pilots from several major European unions on Monday, February 24.
The industrial action, called by unions ANPAC (Associazione Nazionale Professionale Aviazione Civile) and RSA, will reportedly take place between 12pm and 4pm. The strike is part of a broader wave of protests across various sectors in Italy, scheduled for February 22-23 and February 24, affecting public transport, including trains and buses.
Workers are demanding pay rises, citing unsatisfactory contract renewal negotiations. Anton Radchenko, an international aviation lawyer and head of AirAdvisor, a company that has helped over 400,000 air passengers with compensation claims, explained: “Pilot strikes can be hugely problematic for airlines – and expensive too.”
He noted that while bad weather is often considered an extraordinary circumstance, exempting airlines from compensation, staff strikes are viewed as within an airline’s control.
“This is because disagreements between airlines and unions can often be settled by improving staff pay or conditions”, reports the Express.
Uncertainty looms over flight schedules as potential strikes threaten to trigger a ‘domino effect’ leading to widespread travel disruption across Europe, an industry expert has cautioned. They elaborated on the possible consequences: “If a flight departs later than planned, this can have a domino effect as far as other flights’ departure slots are concerned – causing them to take off late too. Strikes like these can have an impact on flights across the world.”
The expert also hinted at a potentially rocky year ahead for air travel, saying: “This could just be the start of a turbulent year for airline strikes, with aviation staff and their unions across Europe pushing for better working conditions and improved perks, like pensions. Airline staff strikes tend to become more prevalent in the summer months, when industrial action by employees can have a greater impact on their employers’ operations.”
Passengers should remember that under EU law, airlines are obliged to offer refunds or alternative arrangements if flights are cancelled. Additionally, delays might entitle travellers to compensation for unexpected expenses such as meals and hotels.
A spokesperson from easyJet said: “easyJet has been formally advised of a four hour strike action by some Italian-based pilots unions on Monday 24 February 2025 from 12pm to 4pm local time. We plan to operate our full flying programme but we advise customers travelling on 24 February to check the status of their flights on our Flight Tracker page or manage their bookings using our disruption portal on our mobile app or website.
“Although this is outside of our control, we would like to apologise to all our customers for any inconvenience caused and would like to reassure them we are doing all possible to minimise any disruption as a result of the strike action.”
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