The Strike That Vanished Has Come Back for Tuscany’s Airports

A 24-hour strike by ground-handling staff is planned for Friday, 30 October at Pisa Galileo Galilei and Florence Peretola airports, and anyone heading to Tuscany should treat the date with caution. The union USB Lavoro Privato filed the stoppage with Italy’s transport ministry on 12 October. It covers employees of Toscana Aeroporti, GH Toscana and Consulta, the companies that run check-in, boarding and baggage on the ground. Because ground handlers rather than airline crews are walking out, long queues and baggage delays are the likeliest result, even on flights that are not cancelled.

The new date is a replacement. An earlier walkout planned for 16 October was withdrawn on 9 October after Italy’s strike guarantee commission intervened, but the union filed a fresh stoppage only days later. It also follows earlier action in the same dispute, including a four-hour stoppage on 13 September and an overtime ban that ran from 13 September to 12 October. For travellers, that pattern suggests the friction at the two airports has not ended simply because one date fell away.

Italian rules protect some flights during fixed windows. Services scheduled between 7am and 10am and between 6pm and 9pm are expected to operate, and the civil aviation authority ENAC is expected to publish a list of guaranteed flights ahead of the strike. Outside those windows, cancellations and long delays are possible. Passengers with midday departures carry the most risk, and anyone with a tight onward connection may want to think about travelling a day earlier or later.

Cash compensation is unlikely, because handling strikes are generally treated as outside an airline’s control. Rights to care and rerouting still apply: if a flight is cancelled the airline must offer an alternative or a refund, and long delays bring entitlement to meals and, overnight, accommodation. Keep receipts, ask the airline for written confirmation of the cause, and avoid signing any waiver. Check flight status with your airline and the airports before you leave for the terminal.

Sources: AirHelp