At the height of the tourist season, hundreds of flights around Italy are canceled due to an air transport strike

After air transport unions carried out a scheduled work stoppage two days after a railway strike that crippled rail operations, hundreds of flights throughout Italy were canceled on Saturday, forcing tourists during the height of the tourist season to seek other arrangements.

As unions push demands for improved work contracts and conditions, summertime in Italy is often the peak season for transportation strikes, leaving commuters and visitors alike stranded. After two years of epidemic losses, the strikes are starting to take their toll this year during a vacation boom.

133 flights were canceled, according to national airline ITA, with the majority being domestic but a handful going to cities in Europe including Madrid, Amsterdam, and Barcelona. From 10 am to 6 pm, low-cost carriers Ryanair and Vueling cancelled scores of additional flights because of the strike. Pilots, flight attendants, luggage handlers, and airport staff were among the striking employees.

Numerous flights were canceled beginning at 10 a.m., according to the airport website in Naples, which mirrored the situation at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport.

“Yeah, it was called off. Stefania Spatola, a Philadelphian who was going with 35 family members, bemoaned, “It was ITA Airways to Catania. “All of our flights were disrupted. It is awful. It’s really terrible.

The walkout was announced, according to the labor unions Filt Cgil, Uiltrasporti, and Ugl Trasporto, amid “absolutely unsatisfactory” contract disputes with Malta Air, which runs Ryanair flights. On its website, Ryanair apologized for cancellations and other issues brought on by the strike, which was “beyond our control.”

Sara di Marco, a spokesperson for Filt Cgil, criticized the administration for delaying meetings with unions to extend labor contracts. Because it was not her intention, she said, “We are not happy to cause inconvenience to customers.”

In an effort “to defer or preempt” the strike, Di Marco said, they intended to speak with the ministry sooner rather than the day before.

As a result of a rail workers’ strike on Thursday, service, even the high-speed trains that are often assured, was severely disrupted, leaving commuters and tourists stuck in hot railway stations around the nation.

Lizzy Lake discovered she must remain in the Eternal City for a few more days before she can go when she arrived at Rome’s airport to get a trip back to London.

We’re thrilled to be able to remain in Rome for a few more days since we like the city, but it’s clearly annoying. We really want to come home right now since I have a tiny kid, she stated. But we’re accustomed to it since there are strikes in England.