Italy’s aviation sector is bracing for yet another major travel disruption as a nationwide general strike affecting air, rail and road travel is set for this Saturday. This marks the third significant strike to impact Italian airspace this year, following previous walkouts in January and February.

The previous strikes led to widespread cancellations and delays and this strike is expected to see the same. They are backed by the SLAI-COBAS, CUB and USI-CIT trade unions. Luckily for those British tourists who may find their holidays affected, experts at AirAdvisor, a leading air passenger rights company, has analysed the full impact of these strikes.

AirAdvisor estimates that approximately 50 to 70 direct flights from the UK to Italy will be impacted, affecting 8,000 to 11,200 passengers.

British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair passengers will mainly be impacted, with each airline having more than 15 direct flights to key Italian airports like Milan, Venice, Rome, Naples, and Florence on March 8.

Key routes affected include London-Rome, London-Milan, Manchester-Rome and Edinburgh-Milan.

Crucially, AirAdvisor reveals that passengers will not receive compensation because this strike action is outside the airline’s control.

Under EU261 regulation, compensation is only due when airlines are directly responsible for disruptions. However, passengers are still entitled to care and assistance if the delay exceeds two hours for short-haul flights, three hours for medium-haul, and four hours for long-haul flights. Perks include free meals and accommodation (if overnight stay is needed) and transport to and from the airport.

Unfortunately for future travellers to Italy, another strike action is scheduled for March 16 – the fourth this year – with passengers expected to see increased flight disruptions between March 8 and March 20.

Since 2023, more than 15 strike actions have affected Italian airspace, leading to over 2,000 cancellations, affecting approximately 350,000 passengers.

Anton Radchenko, aviation expert and founder of AirAdvisor has some valuable insight in response to these strikes.

He said: “Four strikes in the first three months of 2025, is not a favourable sign for the Italian aviation industry. EU has one of the strongest laws protecting air passenger rights, but frequent disruptions make it a mess for passengers. The fact that they have to file for refunds, seek support, book alternate flights, time and again, sucks the joy out of travelling.

“With another strike action happening on the 16th of March, passengers flying to Italy will try to make the most of next week: 9th to 15th March. This means more seats will be booked, leading to congestion or higher traffic than usual. Plus, the ripple effects from the 8th March strike will make things worse and lead to more disruptions.

“My top advice for passengers is to make flexible travel plans and plan ahead of time to minimize inconvenience. Plus, avoid connecting flights via Italy because they are at risk, even if not landing in Italy.

“Ideally, travel after March 20, when situations would be back under control, with flights facing fewer disruptions. If postponing is not an option, fly to nearby airports outside Italy, such as Nice (NCE, France) or Zurich (ZRH, Switzerland), and take a train to Italy. Train journeys take approximately 4 hours, with fares starting from £25, making them a great cost-effective option.

“Last but not least, act fast because airlines have an overwhelming number of requests during peak times, so they struggle with rebookings. Bypass this by contacting airlines through social media, where they’re more responsive to expedite your rebooking.”