Ground-handling and check-in staff affiliated to the CUB and USB base unions staged a 24-hour walk-out on 24 July, paralysing the handling operations that underpin airline turnaround times. According to ENAC and local airport bulletins, more than 60 flights were cancelled at Milan-Malpensa alone, 65 at Venice, 40 at Florence, and a further 30 on ITA Airways’ network. Although minimum-service time slots (07:00–10:00 and 18:00–21:00) were respected, cascading delays rippled through the day as luggage belts, fuelling, catering and push-back services slowed. EasyJet, Ryanair and Volotea proactively scrubbed frequencies to limit passenger stranding, while ITA Airways activated a re-booking plan that relocated half the affected travellers onto same-day departures. Business travellers heading to Milan’s fashion fairs or Rome’s diplomatic meetings reported missed connections and last-minute hotel stays. Travel-management companies (TMCs) estimate that duty-of-care costs—re-accommodation, re-ticketing and overtime—averaged €185 per traveller. Companies with critical meetings next week have been advised to book flexible fares and build 24-hour buffers when travelling through the peak holiday period. The strike highlights the fragility of Italy’s ground-handling sector, where the national contract expired six years ago. Unions are demanding wage alignment with inflation and safer staffing levels; employers say margin pressure from low-cost carriers leaves little room to manoeuvre. Further 48-hour actions are threatened for late August if negotiations fail, posing ongoing risk to summer schedules.
Source: La Sicilia / ENAC bulletins
