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STRIKES

Will Italy’s strikes on Friday affect the Ryder Cup in Rome?

A quarter of a million visitors are expected in Rome this weekend for the first Ryder Cup golf tournament ever to be held in Italy, but will they face transport strikes in the city?

Will Italy's strikes on Friday affect the Ryder Cup in Rome?
A practice session ahead of the 44th Ryder Cup at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome on September 28, 2023. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

Players from Europe and the United States will battle it out between Friday and Sunday in the Cup’s 44th edition, to be held at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome.

But with reports of transport strikes in the news, people visiting Rome this weekend may be concerned that their plans will be disrupted.

Strikes now look unlikely to cause disruption in the city of Rome itself, after a 24-hour public transport strike planned for Friday was postponed until October 9th.

Airport strikes

Friday may however be a difficult day for air travel to or from Italy, with more than one strike by airport and airline staff set to go ahead within the same 24-hour period.

It remains unclear ahead of the strikes how disruptive they may turn out to be, and whether this could lead to any significant delays at Italian airports.

STRIKES: How will flights and transport in Italy be affected on Friday?

Aeroporti di Roma, the management company running Rome’s two airports, Ciampino and Fiumicino, had not announced any likely disruption as of Thursday afternoon, only warning passengers flying on Friday to check the status of their flight with their airline before setting off.

Flights scheduled to depart between 7am and 10am and between 6pm and 9pm are protected from strikes under Italian law, and should go ahead as usual on Friday. 

Italy’s civil aviation authority Enac has published a list of flights guaranteed to go ahead on Friday on its website.

(Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)

Public transport

Strikes shouldn’t cause any particular problems with getting around Rome by public transport during the tournament.

However, there is a closure on part of the metro line this weekend which could complicate things for passengers.

Rome’s metro B1, a branch of the B line, will be shut from September 28th until October 1st.

This line serves four stations, from Piazza Bologna to Jonio, in the north-east of the capital, close to the Marco Simone golf course.

The city transport authority ATAC said the closure was urgently needed in order to carry out repair work on overhead lines, and that the B1 line will be replaced by shuttle buses in the meantime.

Rome meanwhile plans to increase the frequency of metro trains on the B line to once every five minutes for the duration of the Ryder Cup.

The city has also announced free shuttle buses will be laid on between Marco Simone and the train stations Ponte Mammolo (Metro B) and La Rustica UIR (FL2 railway) over the weekend.

Find more information on Rome city council’s Ryder Cup event website.

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STRIKES

How is Milan’s transport strike affecting travel on Wednesday?

Commuters in Milan faced disruption on Wednesday, June 26th, as staff at public transport company ATM began a 24-hour strike.

How is Milan's transport strike affecting travel on Wednesday?

The walkout was set to affect the normal operation of buses, trams and underground trains, but not regional or long-distance trains and taxi services.

Lines were expected to be disrupted between 8.45am and 3pm and from 6pm until the end of service, ATM announced in a press release on its website.

On Wednesday morning, the company announced that the M2 and M5 metro lines would be closed until 3pm, while the M1, M3 and M4 lines would remain open.

Buses running on the NET line in Monza and Brianza faced disruption from 9am to 11.50am and from 2.50pm to end of service on city centre routes and from 8.45am to 3pm and 6pm to end of service on extra-urban routes, according to local newspaper Monza Today.

READ ALSO: Key dates: The transport strikes to expect in Italy in summer 2024

The Al Cobas drivers’ union said it was calling for higher wages, better contracts, and better sanitation and driver safety conditions, among other things.

“The question of wages and working conditions are a real social emergency,” the group said in a press release published to its Facebook page earlier this month.

“Between 2013 and 2023, the purchasing power of gross wages in Italy decreased by 4.5 per cent, while in the other major EU economies it grew at rates ranging from 1.1 per cent in France to 5.7 per cent in Germany.”

The walkout marks the third 24-hour strike the union has staged in the space of two months, following previous actions on May 6th and May 31st.

See ATM’s website or mobile app for the latest updates.

Keep up with the latest updates in The Local’s strike news section.

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