Italy General Strikes Hit Flights And Trains Nov 28, Dec 12

Published on Nov 27, 2025, 11:00 am CST

9 min read

Key points

Base unions and CGIL have called nationwide general strikes in Italy on November 28 and December 12, with 24 hour actions that hit rail, local transit, ports, and parts of aviation
National rail staff at Trenitalia, Italo, Trenord, and other FS Group operators will strike from 21:00 November 27 to 21:00 November 28, and again from 00:01 to 21:00 on December 12, with only limited guaranteed trains
Italian civil aviation rules guarantee flights departing between 07:00 and 10:00 and between 18:00 and 21:00, plus some island and once daily links, while many other departures can be delayed or cancelled
Local buses, trams, and metros in cities such as Rome, Milan, Naples, and Turin will run reduced service with city specific protected windows that still leave long gaps in airport and station access
A separate four hour aviation and air traffic control strike on December 17 from 13:00 to 17:00 further compresses safe flight options in the pre Christmas peak and raises the risk of knock on delays
Travelers should shift key flights and trains into protected bands, avoid tight same day rail to air connections on strike days, and add overnight stops where itineraries cross Italy between late November and mid December

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: Expect the heaviest disruption on high speed and Intercity rail corridors through Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, and Naples, plus local buses and metros feeding their main stations and airports
Best Times To Travel: Aim for national trains in the 06:00 to 09:00 and 18:00 to 21:00 protection bands and flights in the 07:00 to 10:00 and 18:00 to 21:00 ENAC windows, or move to non strike days
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Avoid self made connections under three hours on November 28, December 12, and December 17, especially where you switch between train and plane at Rome or Milan hubs
Onward Travel And Changes: Favor flexible tickets, book cancellable hotels near major stations or airports for backup overnights, and use long distance buses or rental cars only when they avoid strike windows
What Travelers Should Do Now: Check operator strike notices and guaranteed service lists, move discretionary trips away from strike dates, and rebook essential segments into protected bands before remaining inventories fill

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Travelers moving through Italy in late November and mid December now need to treat three specific dates as high risk for broken itineraries. On Friday November 28 and Friday December 12 nationwide general strikes will thin or halt long distance rail, regional trains, city buses and metros, and some airport operations, while a separate aviation and air traffic control walkout on Wednesday December 17 will compress flight schedules just before Christmas. Visitors with same day train to plane connections, or plans that rely on local transit to reach airports, should rework routes into protected windows or shift key movements to other days.

In practical terms Italy general strike flights trains means that rail operators, local transit agencies, and airport authorities are moving to minimum service mode on November 28 and December 12, 2025, with legal guarantees only in narrow morning and evening bands and no promise that intermediate departures will run.

What is happening on November 28

The first wave is a 24 hour general strike on Friday November 28, led by base unions including USB, CUB, SGB, and Cobas, in protest at government budget policy and wage conditions. It covers large parts of the public and private sectors, including long distance rail, local public transport, ports, logistics, and segments of the air transport system.

For rail the core window runs from 2100 on Thursday November 27 to 2100 on Friday November 28. A joint notice from rail infrastructure manager Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and the FS Group confirms that staff at Trenitalia, Italo, and Trenord are part of the action, with services across Alta Velocità high speed lines, Intercity, and regional networks subject to cancellation or short workings. Trenitalia's strike page notes that regional services will still operate essential commuter runs between 0600 and 0900, and again between 1800 and 2100 on working days, while other trains can be pulled at short notice.

Private high speed operator Italo has published a detailed list of guaranteed trains, including at least one early morning and one evening departure on flagship corridors such as Naples to Turin via Rome and Milan, Milan to Venice, and Milan to Rome, plus several services that arrive within one hour of the strike starting and are therefore allowed to complete their journeys. The pattern is that some skeleton service survives, but frequencies collapse outside the fasce di garanzia protection bands, so travelers cannot rely on timetable search tools alone.

In the air sector ENAC, Italy's civil aviation authority, has activated standard strike protections. Its strike portal and November 28 bulletin specify that all flights, including charter services, scheduled to depart between 0700 and 1000 and between 1800 and 2100 must operate, along with certain island connections, once daily lifeline routes, and national flights already in the air when the strike takes effect. Outside those windows, airlines are free to cancel or retime flights, and some ground handling and airport staff will be on strike, so delays can spill over even into protected bands at busy hubs.

Travelers using Rome's Fiumicino International Airport (FCO), Milan Linate Airport (LIN), Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP), Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE), or Naples International Airport (NAP) should expect leaner departure boards, longer queues at check in and security, and occasional last minute cancellations, especially for domestic and short haul European routes in the middle of the day. Airlines are advising passengers to monitor apps, reconfirm flights the day before travel, and arrive early where flights are running.

Local transit amplifies the risk. In Campania, for example, operator EAV has confirmed a 24 hour general strike affecting rail and bus networks, including key lines that feed Naples and its airports, with guaranteed services only from 0530 to 0830 and 1630 to 1930. Similar 24 hour stoppages are posted for municipal networks in major cities, each with its own peak hour bands, so Rome's buses and metro, Milan's ATM network, and systems in Turin, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, and Palermo will all be unreliable outside narrow windows even when long distance trains or flights are operating.

What is planned for December 12

Two weeks later, on Friday December 12, Italy's largest union confederation CGIL has called a separate general strike against the 2026 budget. Official strike calendars and CGIL notices describe a 24 hour national action that again covers multiple sectors, with a particular emphasis on rail and local public transport.

For rail the clearest published information so far is a 21 hour window from 0001 to 2100 on December 12, during which national and regional passenger services will be heavily cut, subject once more to legal minimum services in commuter protection bands. Maritime, air, and local public transport are also listed as part of the action in multiple strike calendars, so travelers should assume that ferry links, city buses, and some airport functions will again operate at reduced levels, especially outside rush hours.

The precise list of guaranteed trains and flights for December 12 was still being compiled at publication time, but past practice and December strike advisories suggest that the same protection logic will apply. In other words, there will be a sparse but real backbone of long distance trains and lifeline services, clustered in morning and evening bands, with most discretionary departures pulled.

The extra pinch point on December 17

On Wednesday December 17 a separate aviation strike adds another risk window. Union announcements and sector calendars describe a four hour stoppage from 1300 to 1700 affecting ENAV air traffic controllers at the Rome area control center, handling staff associated with ground handling group Assohandlers, and personnel at several airlines, including ITA Airways, Vueling, Air France, and KLM.

That combination means mid afternoon flights to, from, or within Italy on December 17 are likely to face flow restrictions, last minute retimings, or cancellations, even though the action is limited to four hours. ENAC will still apply protected bands, but capacity reductions in the middle of the day can push large blocks of flights into compressed departure and arrival periods, raising the risk of missed onward connections.

How Italy's guaranteed service rules work

Italy's strike laws are designed to balance the right to strike with continuity of essential public services. In transport that shows up as legally defined fasce di garanzia protection bands, usually around commuter peaks, and as lists of servizi minimi guaranteed services that rail, local transit, and air operators must still run.

For rail this typically means that on working days services scheduled between 0600 and 0900 and between 1800 and 2100 operate even during strikes, although frequencies can still be reduced. Operators like Trenitalia, Trenord, and Italo then publish tables of specific train numbers that are guaranteed, plus guidance on refunds and rebooking for all other departures. For aviation ENAC enforces protected flight windows, sets out which island and once daily routes must run, and maintains a central list of guaranteed flights which airlines then map onto their own schedules.

Local transit rules vary by city but follow the same logic, typically guaranteeing service for a few hours at the start and end of the working day. EAV, for instance, will run buses and regional trains in Campania from 0530 to 0830 and again from 1630 to 1930 on November 28, while other departures are subject to last minute cancellation if enough staff join the strike.

Adept Traveler has already mapped these rules onto specific Italian strike days this season, including earlier pieces on the November 28 walkout, December transport strikes, and ferry and rail actions that intersect with winter travel, which can be useful cross references when planning multi country itineraries.

Planning routes through Italy on strike days

For November 28 and December 12 treat the protection bands as the spine of your plan. If you must travel by train on those days, target guaranteed departures in the 0600 to 0900 or 1800 to 2100 windows, and prefer direct services on main high speed routes such as Rome to Florence, Rome to Milan, Milan to Venice, or Naples to Milan instead of multi segment regional journeys.

Flying into or out of Italy on a strike day is easiest if your flight sits inside the 0700 to 1000 or 1800 to 2100 ENAC windows. When that is not possible, aim to arrive the day before a major rail move, or delay onward flights to the following morning, rather than trying to land, clear the airport, and board a train in the same unprotected middle part of the day.

On December 17, avoid booking flights that depart or arrive in Italy between 1300 and 1700 local time, especially if you have onward long haul connections. If you cannot avoid that window, build at least three hours of buffer on either side of the strike for connections, and favor larger hubs with multiple daily frequencies over small airports with only one or two departures.

Within cities, assume that metros, buses, and trams will be crowded during protection bands and thin or absent in between. Prebook airport shuttles or taxis where possible, allow extra time for road congestion around stations and protest marches, and download offline maps that include pedestrian routes in case you need to walk the final stretch.

Finally, consider whether you can slide your Italian legs to non strike days. If your itinerary is flexible, the safest move is often to bring key rail journeys forward to Thursday November 27 or Thursday December 11, then keep November 28 and December 12 light, using them for local walks, museums, or hotel based work days where movement is optional. Where dates are fixed, protect yourself with flexible tickets, travel insurance that covers strikes where available, and hotel reservations near major hubs that you can fall back on if connections break.