Italy airport strikes: Flight cancellation warning for Wizz Air passengers as industrial action to cause disruption to popular destinations
A strike disruption and flight cancellation travel warning has been issued to Wizz Air passengers and those flying to Italy.
Flight compensation specialist AirAdvisor has issued a warning to Brits flying to Rome, Milan, Florence and Pisa on Saturday 7 September, with industrial action by staff at two key airlines and workers at all four airports expected to cause disruption the popular destinations. Cabin crew and pilots at Italy’s key carrier, ITA Airways and budget airline Wizz Air, which flies from ten UK airports, plan to strike between 1pm and 5pm local time.
To make matters worse, air traffic controllers at Rome’s Fiumicino airport as well as ground handling staff at Pisa International, Florence International and Milan Malpensa are set to strike across the same four-hour window. Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor, which has supported 250,000 passengers with flight compensation claims, explains: “Earlier this year, Wizz Air pilots and cabin crew striked (also for four hours) resulting in huge numbers of Wizz flights being disrupted across a single day.
“It’s likely that passengers flying to the airports affected by this set of strike action will face disruption to their journeys in the form of delayed and cancelled flights. In addition, anyone flying with Wizz or ITA Airways from other airports should ready themselves for disruption to their journeys as a potential knock-on of these delays is flights to non-Italian destinations missing their departure slot and having to take off later.”
Mr Radchenko offered his advice to those who may be impacted by the industrial action. He said: “Know your rights! In the event of airline crew striking as opposed to, for example, a national strike passengers may be entitled to up to £520 each, this is relative to the length of the delay and the distance. Airlines are also obliged to arrange alternative transportation to your intended destination, this can be a flight with another airline.
"If you have a long wait at the airport, the airline must provide you with refreshments proportional to the waiting time as well as two free phone calls/texts and, where applicable, overnight accommodation.” He added: “If your flight is delayed more than five hours, you can cancel your flight and claim back the ticket price. Finally, you can use a flight compensation calculator to figure out how much you might be owed."