Four-Hour Air-Traffic-Control Strike Hits Italian Skies, With Protection Slots Only

Travellers heading to or through Italy today face a compressed window of disruption as air-traffic controllers at ENAV, the state-run provider, stage a nationwide strike from 13:00 to 17:00 local time. The industrial action—backed by the Uiltrasporti, UGL-TA, Astra and FAST-Confsal-Av unions—also involves technicians at subsidiary Techno Sky and security staff at Rome-Fiumicino. Unions say workloads have soared since post-pandemic traffic recovered, while pay talks have stalled. Under Italian law a skeleton service must be preserved. ENAC, the civil-aviation regulator, has designated two “protection time slots”: 07:00-10:00 and 18:00-21:00, during which all scheduled flights must operate. Medical, emergency, island-continuity and state flights are exempt throughout the day. Airlines have trimmed frequencies and issued fee-free rebooking waivers, but cancellations are still likelier around the immediate strike window and in the recovery period afterwards. Rome-Fiumicino, Milan-Malpensa, Milan-Linate, Naples-Capodichino and Venice-Marco Polo are the most exposed because they host the area control centres that choreograph overflights as well as take-offs and landings. Airport authorities have warned that knock-on delays could extend into the evening bank-holiday getaway. Passengers are advised to arrive early, move liquids and electronics out of hand luggage to speed security, and monitor carrier apps for gate changes. For corporate mobility managers the timing is awkward: the walk-out overlaps with the first day of full biometric checks under the EU Entry/Exit System, meaning longer border queues just as departure boards thin out. Companies with time-sensitive shipments should consider trucking or rail alternatives inside the EU customs union until schedules stabilise over the weekend. Labour analysts note that today’s action is the first in a rolling calendar of transport strikes this spring. Rail unions have already filed a 24-hour stoppage for 18 April, and port workers are threatening a May slowdown unless a new national contract is signed. Business travellers should build slack into itineraries and keep contingency accommodation on hold.