Volotea And EasyJet Strikes To Disrupt Italy Flights

Published on Nov 13, 2025, 12:22 pm CST

6 min read

Key points

Volotea staff in Italy will stage a 24 hour national strike on November 14 2025
Italy based easyJet flight crews will walk out from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. CET on the same day
A national air traffic control strike and Rome public transport walkout will overlap with the airline strikes
Flights scheduled between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., and 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., are expected to operate under Italian law
Travelers should check their booking, move to guaranteed windows where possible, and allow extra time at Italian airports

Impact

Flight Disruptions: Volotea will operate a 24 hour national strike in Italy on November 14 2025, while easyJet crews stop for four hours in the afternoon
Overlap With ATC Strike: A nationwide air traffic control strike from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. CET will reduce capacity during the same window as the easyJet walkout
Guaranteed Timebands: Italian rules require flights scheduled between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., and 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., to operate even during strikes, although delays remain possible
Airport Hotspots: Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Naples, and other major Italian airports are likely to see crowding, longer lines, and tighter connections
What Travelers Should Do: Check flight status and email, consider rebooking into guaranteed windows, build extra connection and transfer time, and review refund or compensation rights under EU rules

Volotea and easyJet passengers flying to, from, or within Italy on Friday, November 14, 2025, should prepare for a full day of disruption. Staff at Spanish carrier Volotea will stage a 24 hour national strike covering all of Italy, while Italy based easyJet flight crews will walk out for four hours in the afternoon. The airline actions coincide with a nationwide air traffic control strike and a separate Rome public transport walkout, which together will thin schedules and crowd the flights that do operate.

For travelers, the key change is that many Volotea and easyJet departures outside Italy's protected timebands could be delayed, retimed, or cancelled, particularly in the middle of the day. Anyone with tight connections or fixed onward plans should assume they may need extra time or alternative routings.

Volotea and easyJet strike windows and scope

The Volotea action is a 24 hour national strike by company personnel across Italy, running from 1200 a.m. to 1159 p.m. local time on November 14. An advisory from Naples Capodichino Airport confirms that the walkout is national in scope and warns of possible delays and cancellations throughout the day. The action has been called by the UILT UIL union, which represents many of the carrier's Italian based workers.

easyJet's disruption is narrower in time but still significant. Italy based flight personnel at the carrier will join a national strike from 100 p.m. to 500 p.m. CET on November 14, according to notices from Italian airports and local strike calendars. The USB Private Work union has organized the easyJet walkout, which targets the airline's cabin and cockpit crews based at Italian airports.

Because both carriers are low cost operators that concentrate on short haul European routes and leisure oriented city pairs, the strike will particularly affect weekend getaways and holiday travel into and out of Italian coastal and island destinations. Flights that rely on Italian crews even when operating between two foreign points may also be exposed, so travelers should not assume they are safe simply because their flight does not start or end in Italy.

How Italian strike protections shape the day

Italy's transport strike rules are designed to preserve a minimum level of service, and they strongly influence which flights will actually operate on November 14. The Italian civil aviation authority and the Ministry of Transport require carriers and air traffic service providers to protect flights scheduled between 700 a.m. and 1000 a.m., and between 600 p.m. and 900 p.m., even during nationwide strikes.

In practice, this means:

Morning departures in the 700 a.m. to 1000 a.m. window and early evening departures in the 600 p.m. to 900 p.m. window are the safest bets to operate close to schedule, including on Volotea and easyJet.
Midday services, and especially departures between 100 p.m. and 500 p.m., face the highest risk of cancellation or long delay, since airline strikes and the air traffic control walkout overlap there.
Flights to and from islands, certain long haul and intercontinental routes, and emergency or humanitarian flights enjoy additional protections, but these exceptions are narrow and do not guarantee normal operations for all affected passengers.

Travelers should also be aware that Rome will see a separate 24 hour strike on local public transport on November 14, with typical strike operating patterns that suspend or thin metro and bus service during much of the day. This will make reaching and leaving airports around the capital more difficult, particularly for travelers relying on city buses or metro lines rather than dedicated airport trains or private transfers.

Background: how Italian transport strikes work

Transport strikes in Italy are tightly regulated. Unions must announce walkouts well in advance, and the state sets the guaranteed timebands and minimum services that must continue. Airlines and airports are then required to publish lists of guaranteed flights and to coordinate reduced schedules for the rest of the day.

For air travelers, the result is usually not a total shutdown, but rather a patchwork of protected flights, cancellations, and late operations. Carriers often consolidate lightly booked departures, swap aircraft, or reroute crews to keep priority services running, which can trigger last minute gate changes and equipment swaps. When air traffic controllers strike at the same time, as they plan to do for four hours on November 14, the combination of staff shortages and flow restrictions can push delays deep into the evening even after the official strike window closes.

Analysis

For anyone booked on Volotea or easyJet on November 14, the safest strategy is to assume disruption and plan around it. Travelers who can move their flights into the protected morning or evening windows should consider doing so, especially if they are connecting to cruises, tours, or long haul flights that are harder to rebook. Those who must travel in the early afternoon should build generous buffers at both ends of the journey and avoid nonrefundable onward commitments the same day.

EU air passenger rules offer some protection. If an airline cancels a flight, passengers have the right to choose between rebooking at the earliest opportunity, rerouting at a later date, or receiving a refund. When the disruption is caused by the airline's own staff strike, rather than by air traffic control or airport workers, courts have often found that travelers may be eligible for cash compensation in addition to rebooking or refunds, although eligibility depends on the exact circumstances and timing.

Because this November strike wave in Italy also includes rail and local transport walkouts on other days in the month, travelers with multi city itineraries should watch for knock on effects beyond November 14 alone. Crowded trains, sold out buses, and limited taxis in cities like Rome, Milan, and Naples could make it harder to stitch together backup plans if flights fall through.

Final thoughts

The Volotea and easyJet staff strikes on November 14, 2025, add another layer to a busy month of transport disruption across Italy. Thanks to Italian strike protections, many flights will still operate, especially in the protected morning and evening timebands, but travelers should not count on business as usual. Treat midday departures with caution, keep a close eye on airline messages and airport apps, and be ready to adjust your plans quickly if your flight is retimed or cancelled. With realistic expectations and a bit of extra buffer, most trips can still go ahead despite the Volotea and easyJet strikes in Italy.