Italy’s air navigation provider ENAV and its technology subsidiary Techno Sky launched a national strike on September 30, 2026, from 1pm to 5pm local time, affecting flight operations at Bologna, Milan Linate, Naples, and Bari airports. Protected flight periods are in place from 7am to 10am and 6pm to 9pm, but flight delays and cancellations are expected across Italy and have knock-on effects throughout Europe.
On September 29, Catania Airport in Sicily suspended all flight operations until 3pm due to volcanic activity from Mount Etna. This caused cancellations including flights to Manchester, Rome, and Venice. The airport authority advised passengers
to check flight status with their airlines before traveling.
Earlier in September, the UK experienced significant air traffic control disruptions after National Air Traffic Services (NATS) suffered a technical failure affecting 15 airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham. Martin Rolfe, NATS chief executive, promised a “very, very thorough investigation” into the incident.
EasyJet cabin crew in Portugal, supported by the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC), announced strikes from October 2 to 6 and December 19 to 23. The October strike is expected to ground approximately 500 flights at Lisbon, Porto, and Faro airports, delaying or canceling
passenger journeys.
An easyJet spokesman said, “We are extremely disappointed that SNPVAC is planning strike actions despite our willingness to continue a constructive dialogue. We had just started a conciliation process through the mediation of DGERT with the aim to reach an agreement to meet our employees’ requests and protect the sustainability of easyJet business in Portugal. The current union demands are unworkable especially given that our crew are already paid significantly above the Portuguese national average. We are doing everything we can to minimize the impact of the strike on our customers including actioning some cancellations in advance to
allow our customers to rearrange their travel plans.”
