About 1,000 flights were canceled at Italian airports on Saturday due to an eight-hour strike by ground and handling staff. Approximately 250,000 passengers lost their connections. But they knew about the strike in advance and there is calm at the airports, the Italian media write. Due to the strike by Ryanair pilots, 120 flights at Belgium’s Charleroi airport, which is used for trips to Brussels, were also canceled on Saturday.
So far, the strike in Italy has affected flight traffic at Václav Havel Airport in Prague only on one route, which was diverted. “We are not registering any disruptions today, only one carrier changed its destination from Naples to Rome due to the strike,” said Prague Airport spokeswoman Klára Divíšková. According to the Belgian media, connections to or from the Czech Republic were not affected by the strike in Charleroi either.
Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini appealed to unions to show “common sense” and consider Italy, its millions of workers and tourists. On Thursday, Italy experienced a strike by railway workers, but Salvini then forced them to cut the restrictions in half. On Saturday, he threatened to do what it takes to “stop the chaos” even now. But he added that he did not want to limit the right to strike, ANSA reported.
In Italy, the strike is announced from 10:00 to 18:00. The trade unions are demanding the signing of a new collective agreement, the last one expired six years ago, writes AFP.
Rome’s Fiumicino-Leonardo Da Vinci airport canceled 200 flights, mainly to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Spain or other parts of Italy. Malta Air, which provides flights for Ryanair, is mainly affected, as well as Ita Airways (formerly Alitalia) and Vueling, whose pilots have joined the strike. 150 flights were canceled in Milan, after thirty connections on Saturday, there were fewer in Turin and Palermo. The Italian Civil Aviation Authority has published a list of flights that are operating under all circumstances.
The Belgian strike affected about 10,000 passengers who were supposed to fly out of Charleroi on Saturday, roughly the same number will not fly to the city.
Ryanair pilots in Belgium accuse the management of the company of “social dumping” and non-compliance with the 2020 collective agreement. During the covid-19 crisis, the company amended the collective agreement and offered pilots extra time off in return for a pay cut.
2023-07-15 14:12:05
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