Flight-safety boost for business travel: ENAV signs 2026-28 collective agreement with air-traffic controllers

Italian air-navigation service provider ENAV and trade-union FIT-CISL finalised a new national collective labour agreement on 23 April, covering the 4,200 air-traffic controllers and technologists who keep the country’s skies safe. The three-year deal delivers a 1.5 % annual pay rise indexed to programmed inflation, new allowances for Sunday and overtime work, and the gradual phase-out of the lower-paid “low-traffic” contract by 2033. Operational clauses may matter even more to corporates than the wage numbers. A monthly cap on hours and a revamped rostering model promise to reduce fatigue-related ATC delays—good news for time-sensitive executives shuttling between Milan, Rome and Southern hubs. The agreement also codifies ‘ferie solidali’ (donated leave) and hybrid-work options for back-office staff, measures that unions say will improve retention and therefore staffing predictability during peak travel periods. ENAV, which handled a record 2.15 million flights in 2025, is planning 300 new hires by 2027; the contract guarantees that newcomers will start on the standard pay scale, averting a two-tier workforce that airlines feared could trigger future strikes. Industry group IATA welcomed the deal as a “stability anchor” just as carriers grapple with the EU Entry/Exit System queues. Travel managers should still monitor the industrial-relations climate—minor sectoral stoppages are scheduled for 29 May—but the likelihood of nationwide ATC walkouts this summer has dropped sharply. Companies budgeting for 2026-28 expatriate assignments can therefore assume a more reliable flight schedule, although external factors such as airport-security strikes remain a variable.