Ahead of today’s industrial chaos the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) circulated an unusually detailed list of flights that must operate regardless of strike action, including island PSO services and all intercontinental departures. The move, covered by la Repubblica, aims to give passengers and travel managers clarity and to head off a flood of compensation claims.
![ENAC publishes guaranteed-flight list and reminds travellers of EU261 rights]()
For travellers who may now be double-checking not only schedules but also entry requirements, VisaHQ can take the administrative load off your plate; its Italy page (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers quick, online processing for visas, passports and other travel documents, helping ensure that documentation is never the reason a protected flight is missed.
Under Italian law, flights scheduled in the “fasce di garanzia” 07:00–10:00 and 18:00–21:00 are protected, as are one-a-day links to islands such as Lampedusa, Pantelleria and Elba. ENAC’s annex listed 34 domestic pairings and 11 long-haul services—among them Emirates’ Milan-Dubai and Egyptair’s Rome-Cairo—that airlines were obliged to operate. The authority also issued a bulletin reminding carriers that strike disruption does not exempt them from their duty of care under EU261: meals, accommodation and re-routing at the earliest opportunity remain mandatory. Business-traveller advocacy groups welcomed the clarification, noting that some carriers have recently tried to classify nationwide labour disputes as ‘extraordinary circumstances’ to avoid compensation. Global-mobility managers should file today’s ENAC list as a template: future strikes are almost certain over the summer, and knowing which flights are ring-fenced can help shape booking strategies and duty-of-care briefings.
For travellers who may now be double-checking not only schedules but also entry requirements, VisaHQ can take the administrative load off your plate; its Italy page (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) offers quick, online processing for visas, passports and other travel documents, helping ensure that documentation is never the reason a protected flight is missed.
Under Italian law, flights scheduled in the “fasce di garanzia” 07:00–10:00 and 18:00–21:00 are protected, as are one-a-day links to islands such as Lampedusa, Pantelleria and Elba. ENAC’s annex listed 34 domestic pairings and 11 long-haul services—among them Emirates’ Milan-Dubai and Egyptair’s Rome-Cairo—that airlines were obliged to operate. The authority also issued a bulletin reminding carriers that strike disruption does not exempt them from their duty of care under EU261: meals, accommodation and re-routing at the earliest opportunity remain mandatory. Business-traveller advocacy groups welcomed the clarification, noting that some carriers have recently tried to classify nationwide labour disputes as ‘extraordinary circumstances’ to avoid compensation. Global-mobility managers should file today’s ENAC list as a template: future strikes are almost certain over the summer, and knowing which flights are ring-fenced can help shape booking strategies and duty-of-care briefings.
