Italy December 2025 Transport Strikes Hit Travel

Published on Dec 3, 2025, 8:51 am CST

10 min read

Key points

Italy December transport strikes cluster between December 9 and 24, 2025, with the main general strike on December 12
Rome faces a 24 hour local public transport strike on December 9 plus nationwide rail disruption on December 12, putting station and airport access at risk
A 48 hour national ferry strike from 3:00 p.m. on December 9 to 3:00 p.m. on December 11 will disrupt sailings between mainland Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, and smaller islands
A four hour national aviation strike window on December 17 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. could delay flights at major airports despite guaranteed time bands
Italian law requires minimum rail and air services during strikes, but high speed, regional, and local lines will still see cancellations and heavy crowding
Travelers with tight connections around Rome, Milan, Venice, and Naples should move flexible trips off December 12 and avoid flying during the December 17 strike window where possible

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: Expect the heaviest disruption on December 12 across Italy's long distance rail network and local transit in cities like Rome, Milan, Venice, and Naples, plus ferry links around the December 9 to 11 window
Best Times To Travel: On strike days, aim for early morning and evening departures that fall inside Italy's protected time bands for trains and flights, or shift trips to non strike dates such as December 13 to 16 and after December 18
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Avoid self made transfers of less than three hours through Rome, Milan, Venice, or Naples between December 9 and 17, and keep airport access flexible if you rely on trains, metros, or ferries
Onward Travel And Changes: Build in refundable hotels near hubs, hold backup bus or private transfer options, and be ready to reroute via alternate airports or rail corridors if your primary line is on a reduced timetable
What Travelers Should Do Now: Check whether your trips touch December 9 to 12 or December 17, move nonessential journeys off those days where possible, and monitor carrier and ENAC or Trenitalia strike updates for guaranteed services

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Italy December transport strikes will create a dense cluster of disruption from December 9 to 24, 2025, putting rail, ferry, and some air travel under pressure just as holiday traffic ramps up. Rome, Milan, Venice, and Naples will all feel the effects as national and local unions stage walkouts across public transport, rail infrastructure, and aviation support services. Travelers moving through Italian hubs during this period will need extra buffer time, flexible tickets, and in some cases different travel dates altogether.

At the core of the calendar is a nationwide general strike on December 12 led by Italy's main union confederation CGIL, which will run from 1201 a.m. to 900 p.m. and cover much of the public and private sector, including rail services and local transit. Surrounding that action are a 24 hour Rome public transport strike on December 9, a 48 hour national ferry strike from the afternoon of December 9 through the afternoon of December 11, a series of local and regional actions on December 12 in Veneto, Bolzano, and Lombardy, and a four hour national aviation strike window on December 17 from 100 p.m. to 500 p.m. For long haul visitors, that pattern matters more than any single strike, because it determines which days are safest for tight connections and which should be avoided entirely.

In practical terms, the Italy December transport strikes will reduce long distance rail options on December 12, make local buses and metros unreliable in Rome on December 9, interrupt ferry corridors from 300 p.m. on December 9 to 300 p.m. on December 11, and create a high risk four hour block for delays on flights into and out of major airports on December 17. Italian law and labor agreements still require guaranteed minimum services on both rail and air, but on busy pre Christmas days, even partial cancellations can leave trains and terminals overcrowded and make same day connections hard to rescue.

Strike calendar: December 9 to 24

The December strike sequence begins on Tuesday, December 9, when Rome's ATAC network is scheduled for a 24 hour local public transport strike. Buses, trams, and metro lines in the capital may run only skeleton services outside legally protected rush hour windows, which will complicate access to major rail stations and to Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport (FCO) for anyone relying on city buses or metro links rather than trains or private transfers.

From 300 p.m. on December 9 to 300 p.m. on December 11, maritime and administrative staff at ferry operators Tirrenia CIN and Moby will hold a national 48 hour strike. Sailings between mainland ports and islands such as Sardinia and Sicily are most exposed, although local bulletins also flag potential disruption to routes serving smaller islands. Timetables are likely to be trimmed to minimum levels, with some sailings cancelled outright. Travelers planning overnight ferries or car crossings during that window should build in at least one alternate date.

Friday, December 12 will see the most concentrated impact. CGIL's general strike runs for 21 hours across public and private sectors, with particular focus on the rail network, and is paired with an eight hour regional rail strike in Veneto from 901 a.m. to 500 p.m., a four hour local public transport strike in Bolzano from 400 p.m. to 800 p.m., and a territorial strike in Lombardy that affects road safety and circulation services across multiple shifts. On the same day, other national and regional actions flagged by Italian media will add pressure to already reduced timetables.

Wednesday, December 17 brings a coordinated four hour aviation strike wave from 100 p.m. to 500 p.m., involving ground handling staff at multiple airports, airline crews for carriers such as ITA Airways, Vueling, Air France, and KLM, and air traffic controllers at ENAV's Rome Area Control Centre, which manages a large slice of Italian airspace. While the aviation action is officially limited to four hours, built up delays and missed connections can echo into the evening bank of departures.

Finally, from midnight on December 22 to midnight on December 24, traveling personnel at logistics provider Number 1 Logistic Group will hold a 72 hour strike that primarily hits freight and parcel deliveries. This will not cancel scheduled passenger trains or flights, but travelers waiting on shipped gifts, rental gear, or time sensitive deliveries into hotels or holiday rentals should expect slower service and plan around it.

Rail: high speed versus regional and local services

On December 12, both national and regional actions will reshape Italy's rail schedule. Under Italy's strike law, Trenitalia must maintain "guaranteed minimum transport services," which concentrate on commuter windows and essential lines, typically around 600 a.m. to 900 a.m. and 600 p.m. to 900 p.m. on weekdays. Long distance Frecciarossa and Italo services are likely to see the most cancellations outside those windows, especially on core north south corridors linking Rome, Florence, Bologna, Milan, and Turin.

Regional and suburban trains are also vulnerable because staffing for infrastructure and local operations is directly targeted in strikes such as the eight hour Veneto action and the road safety and circulation strike in Lombardy. Travelers using regional lines to connect to airports like Milan Malpensa or Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) should not assume normal frequencies. Local rail options into Naples International Airport (NAP) and trains feeding ferry ports serving Sicily and Sardinia may also run thin timetables on strike days.

The practical takeaway is that on December 12 travelers who must move between major Italian cities should target guaranteed windows on high speed trains, accept that seat availability may be tight, and avoid itineraries that depend on same day regional connections at intermediate stations. Where possible, shifting inter city trips to December 11, December 13, or the December 16 to 18 midweek band will lower the risk of extended delays.

Urban transit and airport access

Rome feels the December strike sequence twice. The 24 hour ATAC strike on December 9 will reduce buses, trams, and metro lines across the city, which will make it harder to reach Roma Termini and Roma Tiburtina stations and complicate budget friendly options to reach Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport (FCO) or Rome Ciampino Airport (CIA). During that day, the safest approach is to rely on the dedicated Leonardo Express rail link, regional trains that operators confirm as running, hotel shuttles, or prebooked private transfers rather than local buses or trams.

On December 12, local action in Bolzano and Lombardy will reduce urban buses and certain road services in northern Italy, with knock on effects for airport access around Milan and for city center transfers. Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) and Milan Linate Airport (LIN) are not themselves on strike that day, but passengers may struggle to reach them if local transit runs at holiday style frequencies or if road management staff are on reduced duty.

For Venice, Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) and cruise or ferry terminals share the same transport ecosystem as regional trains and vaporetto lines. A tight December 12 connection from a delayed high speed train into a short hop flight from VCE will be harder to pull off than usual, because the public transport options that bridge the gap may be less frequent or more crowded. Naples International Airport (NAP) is less exposed to local transit strikes in this window, but rail disruptions elsewhere in the country can still cause late arrivals on long distance services feeding southern Italy.

Aviation: how risky is December 17

Italy's December 17 aviation strike wave is tightly timed, running from 100 p.m. to 500 p.m. local time and covering ground handling staff, selected airline crews, and air traffic controllers at Rome's area control center. Under ENAC rules, flights scheduled between 700 a.m. and 1000 a.m. and between 600 p.m. and 900 p.m. must still operate, and the authority publishes lists of guaranteed flights ahead of each strike.

Midday departures and arrivals, especially at Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Venice Marco Polo, and Naples International, carry the highest risk. Short haul flights that rotate multiple times per day on the same aircraft can fall behind schedule even if only one sector in the rotation is delayed. Long haul flights that arrive during the strike window may need to hold or divert, which can in turn disrupt inbound connections onto domestic banks.

Travelers who have not yet ticketed flights into or out of Italy on December 17 should favor early morning or evening departures that sit clearly inside the protected windows. Those already booked in the 100 p.m. to 500 p.m. block should watch for airline re timing or rebooking options in the week prior to departure, and keep airport transfers flexible in case of last minute schedule changes.

Ferries, parcels, and what to move off the calendar

The December 9 to 11 ferry strike is most critical for travelers who plan to move cars or campers between mainland Italy and island destinations. Because it starts and ends at 3:00 p.m., it slices through three different calendar days, which can lead to confusion when looking at booking engines that display dates rather than times. Anyone with inflexible hotel or villa reservations on Sardinia or Sicily should aim to arrive before the afternoon of December 9 or after the afternoon of December 11, or switch to air travel on non strike days.

The December 22 to 24 freight logistics strike will not empty passenger trains or shut airports, but it can still touch travelers who rely on just in time deliveries. Retail restocking, parcel shipments, and some hotel or tour supply chains may run behind schedule in the final days before Christmas. Where possible, gifts, speciality items, or rental gear should be shipped earlier in December, with local pickup as a fallback.

In this overall pattern, the days that most merit full itinerary changes are December 12 for rail dependent trips and December 9 to 11 for ferry reliant routes. December 17 is better handled by shifting flights into protected time bands or different days where feasible, and by adding extra connection time rather than cancelling entire journeys.

What travelers should do now

With the Italy December transport strikes now well signposted, travelers can take concrete steps. First, map each leg of your route against the dates and sectors affected, paying particular attention to December 9, December 12, and December 17. Second, move flexible trips that rely on long distance rail or local transit away from December 12, or rebook to guaranteed windows with extra buffer time built in both before and after. Third, if your holiday plan depends on ferries to Sardinia or Sicily, adjust crossings so that they fall outside the 300 p.m. December 9 to 300 p.m. December 11 strike window, or switch to flights on less exposed dates.

For flights that cannot be moved off December 17, aim for departures or arrivals in the protected 700 a.m. to 1000 a.m. or 600 p.m. to 900 p.m. bands, hold contingency funds for taxis or hotel nights if a connection fails, and monitor both airline alerts and ENAC's guaranteed flight lists in the days before departure. Finally, remember that Italian strike calendars can change as negotiations evolve. Official bulletins, operator websites, and local transport authorities will have the last word if any of these December actions are shortened, postponed, or expanded.