Travel chaos as flights cancelled at major European airports (Image: Getty)
Hundreds of flights to and from key Italian air hubs are being disrupted today as staff strikes take hold of the region. Air traffic controllers are due to walk out across 33 airports between 1pm and 5pm today, which already appears to be having an impact.
According to FlightAware, hundreds of scheduled flights have been cancelled or disrupted, including in Rome, Bologna, Venice, Naples and Milan. ENAV, which runs Italian air traffic control, will walk out at all 33 Italian airports. Localised groundstaff actions are set to accompany the strikes at several key hubs, including Milan Linate, Naples, Bologna, and Bari.
Flights have been delayed at Rome’s airport (Image: Getty)
According to FlightAware, 61 scheduled flights have been disrupted at Milan Malpensa today, while 22 appear to be cancelled. At Rome Fiumcino, it shows 28 cancellations and 77 delays.
Under Italian law, flights in the morning and evening are protected, so essential routes should operate during peak hours between 7am and 10am, and 6pm to 9pm.
As a strike is outside of an airline’s control, they are not required to offer compensation, however, it has a duty of care to passengers, so they must provide you with food and water as well as book you into a hotel if you are stuck overnight.
Simon McCulloch, chief growth officer at travel insurance providers Staysure, said: “Anyone due to travel should check the latest status of their flight directly with their airline before setting off for the airport.
“If your flight is cancelled, it may be your travel provider’s responsibility to find you an alternative flight. Depending on the circumstances, your airline may also have obligations to provide assistance during a lengthy delay.”
He said travel insurance policies may cover costs incurred as a result of the delay, so he advised keeping your receipts.
“This kind of disruption may be covered under travel insurance policies, for things like reasonable additional accommodation, transport costs, missed connections, certain expenses caused by a lengthy delay and potentially cancellation/abandonment, depending on the policy wording,” he said.
“It’s worth checking your policy’s definition of ‘travel delay’, ‘missed departure’, ‘abandonment’ or ‘travel disruption’ as cover levels vary.”
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
