Flights canceled in Italy following air traffic controllers’ strike

MILAN (Reuters) – Travelers faced disruption across Italy on Wednesday as air traffic controllers went on strike and unions also called on budget airline workers for four-hour stoppages , leading to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Around 360 flights were canceled, affecting more than 4,000 passengers, a spokesperson for the UIL Trasporti union said on Wednesday.

Passengers across Europe have suffered delays and cancellations over the past week as airlines and airports struggle to cope with the resumption of travel at the start of the summer season.

Italian unions FILT-CGIL and UIL Trasporti have called a four-hour strike from 0800 GMT for Ryanair workers in Italy, complaining of a pay cut linked to on-board sales and difficult working conditions in Europe’s largest low-cost airline.

easyJet pilots and flight attendants were also on strike between 11:00 and 15:00 GMT.

Ryanair denied that any member of its crew took part in the strikes in Italy, but added that it had canceled a number of flights due to action by air traffic controllers in northern and central Italy.

“These ATC (air traffic control) strikes are completely beyond our control and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience they will inevitably cause,” Ryanair said in a statement.

Italian ENAV flight controllers went on strike for 12 hours on Wednesday. EasyJet also blamed controllers for disrupting its schedules.

“Around 24 flights to and from the UK have been canceled in advance to mitigate the impact on customers’ plans today and provide the opportunity to rebook before traveling to the airport” , said easyJet in a statement.

Italian airline ITA Airways rerouted about 99% of its passengers to avoid the strike, the airline said in a statement.

Ryanair ranked first for the number of passengers traveling to and from Italy last year, as Alitalia downsized its network before handing over to its smaller successor, ITA.

(Reporting by Sabina Suzzi and Keith Weir, editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan)