Italian air-traffic controllers walked off the job today from 10:00 to 18:00, triggering hundreds of cancellations and delays at airports nationwide. The most acute disruption was reported at Catania’s Vincenzo Bellini and Palermo’s Falcone e Borsellino airports, where early-morning departure boards showed more than 60 grounded flights on carriers including ITA Airways, Ryanair, EasyJet and Lufthansa. The stoppage was called by Filt-Cgil, Uil Trasporti and Unica over staffing levels and a stalled contract renewal with state provider ENAV. A second, partially overlapping strike by Fit-Cisl and Ugl-Ta compounded the impact. Under the Italian guarantee system, “protected” time-bands (07:00-10:00 and 18:00-21:00) ensured a skeletal service, but most business-hour slots were uncovered. Airlines activated standard mitigation plans: re-routing through Milan and Rome hubs, free date changes and hotel vouchers for same-day connections. The Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) advised travellers to monitor airline apps before heading to the airport. Freight forwarders warn that high-value perishables from Sicily could miss European distribution windows, reviving memories of last summer’s €9 million mango-export loss caused by rolling stoppages. For corporate travel managers the key takeaway is contingency planning: Italy has logged 17 separate aviation strikes since January and unions have already filed notice of additional 24-hour actions at Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino on 5 July. Companies with critical operations should map alternative rail connections or charter options and build buffer days into itineraries. The Ministry of Transport has convened a conciliation meeting for 28 June. If a deal on staffing ratios is not reached, unions say they will escalate to a 48-hour strike during the August peak – a scenario that would paralyse Europe’s third-busiest airspace and reverberate through global supply chains.
Source: La Sicilia
