Italy strikes: Flights likely to be cancelled as airport staff and airline workers to strike - when is walkout happening?
Strikes this weekend in Italy could cause “mayhem” for thousands of school holiday travellers.
Staff at Spanish budget airline, Volotea, are set to walkout, as well airport workers belonging to the Assohandlers group, which represents baggage handlers at dozens of airports across Italy. Assohandlers represents a number of influential companies such as Airport Handling, which counts Ryanair, Wizz and Tui among its clients.
Making matters worse, Swissport staff at Milan Linate who provide check-in and gate services are also due to strike. Volotea connects over 100 cities around Europe with 19 main airport bases.
Strike action in Italy earlier this month resulted in 73 flights scheduled to depart from and arrive in the country being cancelled in a single day. The scrapped flights included services from Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate, Naples and Venice Marco Polo - affecting passengers travelling via Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester.
A leading air travel compensation expert is urging Volotea customers caught up in the strikes to file claims against the airline for any delays or cancellations caused by the walkouts. Darina Kovacheva, Head of Legal at airline compensation specialist SkyRefund says: “As we saw earlier this month, the ongoing discontent among aviation workers in Italy is causing mayhem for holidaymakers visiting the country. We highly recommend that passengers travelling to Italy this weekend monitor the status of their flight before travelling to the airport, as strikes like these can cause last minute cancellations.
“Volotea passengers whose flights are either delayed or cancelled at short notice due to this industrial action may be entitled to compensation of £250–£520, based on the distance of their flight. Under EU Regulation 261/2004, when disruption to a passenger’s journey is caused by an airline’s own employees, such as the planned Volotea staff strike, passengers may be eligible for compensation. This is because instances like these are considered within the airline’s responsibility.
“Volotea may seek to prove that it took all reasonable measures to avoid the disruption to avoid paying out to customers. If you are affected by delays or cancellations this weekend, you should file a claim with a flight compensation specialist, who will fight your corner in cases like these.”