Italy’s national air navigation provider ENAV and its technology subsidiary Techno Sky have launched a four-hour strike from 1pm to 5pm local time on September 30, 2026. The work stoppage encompasses the entire country and is complemented by localized strikes at Bologna, Milan Linate, Naples, and Bari airports.
Flight Cancellations and Legal Flight Operating Hours in Italy
The strike is expected to cause widespread flight cancellations and delays across Italian and European airports. Italian regulations designate protected flight periods during which operations must continue unaffected: 7am to 10am and 6pm to 9pm. Despite these windows, knock-on delays through the day are anticipated as a result of the industrial action.
Related Recent Disruptions at Catania and UK Airports
On September 29, Catania Airport in Sicily suspended all flight operations until 3pm due to volcanic ash from Mount Etna, resulting in multiple cancellations involving routes to Manchester, Rome, and Venice. Earlier in September, the UK faced severe disruptions when National Air Traffic Services (NATS) experienced a major air traffic control technical failure. This failure caused cancellations of over 1,000 flights at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham airports.
easyJet Cabin Crew Strikes in Portugal
easyJet cabin crew unionized under SNPVAC in Portugal announced strikes scheduled from October 2 to 6 and December 19 to 23, 2026. The October strike alone is projected to ground approximately 500
flights involving Lisbon, Porto, and Faro airports. easyJet has described the union’s demands as unworkable, citing that crew members earn significantly above the national average. The airline has preemptively canceled some flights to facilitate customer rebooking and reduce disruption.
Official Responses and Broader European Travel Context
Martin Rolfe, CEO of NATS, committed to conducting a thorough investigation into the earlier UK ATC system failure. Meanwhile, Italy’s civil aviation authority has published lists of guaranteed flights for the strike periods to limit passenger impact. Alongside these air travel disruptions, France’s rail sector is also engaging in strikes protesting government budget cuts, further complicating travel across Europe. Additional delays
have been reported at major European hubs due to the Entry/Exit System (EES) rollout earlier this year.
The combined effects of Italy’s national strike, volcanic activity in Sicily, UK air traffic control failures, and staff strikes in Portugal generate extensive cancellations and delays across Europe’s airspace on September 30, 2026.
