The national strike on Friday 25th October will affect flights to and from Italy as well as public transport, including buses, trains, ferries and motorways, in and around the cties of Milan, Turin, Florence, Rome, Naples, Palermo and Catania.

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Italian airline Alitalia said it has cancelled some 200 flights on Friday, and other airlines expected to hit by delays or cancellations include Ryanair and Easyjet.

The national strike action has been called by trade unions protesting over pay and working conditions.

Rome is set to be hit hardest as general strike action is also planned by public and private sector employees, including by waste management company AMA, on Friday, at the same time as the general transport strike.

Unions told local media they were protesting the way public services were being run in the capital.

“It is a strike for Rome, where citizens have poor services and workers work in humiliating conditions. Enough with the degradation of this city,” a representative of the CGIL union told La Repubblica.

Amid the ongoing rubbish crisis in Rome, residents are now being urged by Ama not to throw out their trash on Friday during the strike, but to instead wait until Saturday, when Ama says collection services will resume.

The exact timing of the 24-hour strikes will vary, and some services on Thursday evening may also be affected.

Planned strike action:

• Airlines: from 00.01 to 24.00 on the 25th.
• Trains: rail strike from 9pm on October 24th to 9pm on the 25th.
• Ferries: throughout Friday 25 October.
• Motorways: strike from 22.00 on the 24th to 22.00 on the 25th.

Transport strikes in Italy are scheduled in advance, and you can find information about planned disruptions (in Italian only) on the Transport Ministry's website.

Useful vocabulary

lo sciopero – strike

cancellato or annullato – cancelled

ritardato or in ritardo – delayed

il rimborso – refund

cambiare la prenotazione – to rebook