Flights Between UK and Italy Hit by Strikes
Jackie Reddy May 08, 2018
EasyJet, Ryanair, British Airways and Alitalia have been forced to cancel services in the face of strike action by air traffic control and ground staff on Tuesday. In a notice on its website, British Airways has said that it will be deploying larger aircraft in order to assist stranded passengers.
Strike action resulted in the cancellation of over 100 flights between Italy and the United Kingdom on Tuesday, The Independent reports. Both ground staff and air traffic controllers staged a walkout between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time, acting in protest against proposed privatization plans. With ground staff across Italy in the throes of a pay dispute, this particular walkout took place amid a larger backdrop of industrial action.
The outlet reports that while long-haul services to the country are continuing to run without interruption, the short-haul services operated by Ryanair, EasyJet, British Airways and Alitalia have been badly impacted by this scheduled industrial action.
In an attempt to remedy the situation, British Airways issued an advisory notice on its website, explaining that it, “…will be using larger aircraft, where possible, to help affected customers and are doing all we can to reduce the levels of disruption.”
“Public transport to and from airports could also be affected by the national strike, so please allow extra time for your travel plans before and after your flights,” it added.
Ryanair has reportedly canceled dozens of its services between Italy and the United Kingdom. Passenger Phil Carson took to social media to voice his frustration at the situation, saying, “What I can’t understand is our flight was at 7 a.m. so we’d have been back in Manchester before the strike commences.”
Alitalia has reportedly had to cancel 230 of its flights while EasyJet was forced to scrap Italy-bound flights departing from London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW).
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