EasyJet Italy pilot strike: Europe flight disruption looms as pilot strike planned for holiday hotspot - when will walk out happen?

Pilots belonging to several major unions in Europe are set to walk out on Monday, February 24. They are due to strike for four hours, from 12pm local time (11am in the UK), Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has warned.

EasyJet pilots represented by ANPAC (National Association of Professional Civil Aviation), FILT (Italian Federation of Transport Workers) and CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) are set to take part in the industrial action. An easyJet spokesperson told the Manchester Evening News: “easyJet has been formally advised of a national transportation workers strike, including some Italian-based pilot unions, on Monday 24 February 2025 from 12pm to 4pm local time.

“While we plan to operate our full flying programme, we advise customers travelling on 24 February to check the status of their flights on our Flight Tracker for the latest information. 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.”

While flights to and from Italy are most likely to be affected next week, it’s possible a ‘domino effect’ caused by the strikes could lead to Europe-wide travel chaos. International aviation lawyer Anton Radchenko, who heads-up AirAdvisor, said: “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.

“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.

“In August last year, easyJet was forced to cancel around 200 flights to and from Portugal due to a three-day strike by cabin crew. If you are due to fly with easyJet or Aeroitalia next week and your flight is cancelled with less than two weeks notice, you may be eligible for between £120 and £520 in compensation. Equally, if your flight is delayed over three hours as a result of airline staff striking, you are likely to be entitled to compensation. We also recommend using a free compensation calculator to establish what you might be owed from your airline.”