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STRIKES

How is travel in Italy being affected by strikes on Friday?

Commuters in Italy faced more disruption from strikes on Friday, December 15th, despite Transport Minister Matteo Salvini's injunction limiting the action to a four-hour window.

Published: 12 December 2023 16:23 CET
Updated: 13 December 2023 12:17 CET
How is travel in Italy being affected by strikes on Friday?
Rome's Termini bus station. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)

A strike by unions representing Italy’s transport workers was set to go ahead on Friday, despite an ordinance issued by Transport Minister Matteo Salvini on Tuesday evening limiting the protest to just four hours.

As a result, the planned 24-hour nationwide action due to affect bus, subway and tram services at the start of one of the busiest travel and shopping weekends of the year was confined to the window between 9am and 1pm.

Services still risked being delayed during other parts of the day, and the injunction did not apply to local transport strikes such as the 24-hour walkout called by BusItalia staff in Umbria, newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.

The strike had already been postponed once before on November 27th after Salvini issued another injunction limiting it to four hours.

READ ALSO: The strikes affecting travel in Italy in December 2023

Union USB said that its members would symbolically strike for 24 hours and attend a national demonstration in Rome starting at 5pm, risking a fine that would allow the union to challenge the minister’s order in court.

As usual with strikes in Italy, there was little indication ahead of time as to which services might face disruption – it mainly depends on how many workers decide to take part on the day.

Public transport

Milan, Rome and Naples were expected to be among the most heavily affected cities.

The strike was expected to affect bus, subway, tram and commuter train services, but shouldn’t impact taxis.

Rome transport network operator ATAC announced on X, formerly Twitter, that metro lines A and C would be closed during the strike window. Metro lines B and B1 would continue to operate, it said, but delays and disruptions could occur until 1pm.

In Milan, transport operator ATM announced that the M3 (yellow) metro line would close, but the M1, M2, M4 and M5 lines would remain open, and buses and trams would also remain in service.

Naples public transport provider AMN, meanwhile, said its staff would keep the 24-hour strike in line with USB’s defiance of Salvini’s order, though services would run at the ‘protected’ times of 5.30-8.30am and 5pm-8pm.

Under Italian law, a minimum number of transport services are guaranteed to run at peak commute hours during strikes, meaning local trains, buses and other services are supposed to be unaffected during parts of the early morning and late afternoon (known as ‘protected time bands’ or fasce protette).

There was a possibility, according to multiple Italian media outlets, that drivers throughout the country would protest the transport minister’s ban by deliberately driving as slowly as possible.

Passengers planning to travel by public transport in Italy on Friday were advised to leave extra time for their journey and check the status of their service with the operator before setting off.

Trains

Local trains in Italy’s northern Trentino Alto Adige area were set to be affected by Friday’s strike, according to national train operator Trenitalia.

And trains on the Settimo – Rivarolo line connecting Genoa to Turin were also subject to changes or cancellations in the 9am-1pm strike window.

Most interregional, intercity and long-distance trains were not expected to be impacted by the walkout.

Flights

Friday’s strike was not expected to affect flights or airports in Italy, though passengers may want to double-check airport shuttle buses and trains are running as scheduled.

On Sunday, December 17th, a planned four-hour strike by baggage handlers at Milan Linate and Milan Malpensa airports may cause delays at check-in desks and luggage collection between 1pm to 5pm.

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

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TRAVEL NEWS

Why are flight prices higher in Italy than the rest of Europe this summer?

A recent analysis found that fares for flights between European countries have decreased on average this summer - but mysteriously, Italy is bucking the trend.

Published: 17 June 2024 12:02 CEST
Why are flight prices higher in Italy than the rest of Europe this summer?

Italy may be at the start of a summer tourism boom, but that’s no thanks to the cost of its airline tickets, which are higher than ever this year.

According to a recent analysis in Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, intra-Europe fares from June to September 2024 are down three percent on average compared to the same period last year – but Italy’s flight costs have risen.

The average price of a summer flight between Italy and the rest of Europe has increased by seven percent since 2023, data shows, while domestic flights cost as much as 21 percent more.

Corriere doesn’t offer much of an explanation for the hikes, though says industry sources say it could be down to demand being higher than anticipated.

READ ALSO: How Europe’s new EES border checks will impact flight passengers

It’s true that supply chain issues have reduced the available fleet of global aircraft at a time when the appetite for international travel is as high as ever – but this is an industry-wide problem that shouldn’t disproportionately affect Italy.

Carmelo Calì, the vice president of consumer rights watchdog Confconsumatori, suggested in a recent interview that the main culprit is a lack of healthy competition in the Italian market.

“Despite what is said to the contrary, in our country companies often find themselves operating at airports practically alone,” Calì told consumer publication Il Salvagente (The Lifejacket).

“Even when there is competition, prices remain high, because the race is upwards and not downwards.”

The high price of Italy’s domestic flights have been a point of contention for years, with consumer unions long complaining that fares for tickets between mainland Italy and the major islands are exorbitant.

Italy’s Price Surveillance Guarantor Benedetto Mineo, who officially goes by Mister Prezzi (‘Mr. Prices’), last summer called on the seven main airlines operating in Italy to account for a 40 percent annual increase in the cost of some key domestic routes.

READ ALSO: Why two Swiss to Italy flight routes are ‘the most turbulent’ in Europe

This was followed by the government announcing a price cap on flights connecting Sardinia and Sicily to the Italian mainland – that it promptly shelved just one month later, after budget carrier Ryanair led a furious pushback by low cost airlines.

“Here companies believe they have freedom that they don’t have elsewhere, convinced they can get away with it, while in the rest of Europe they fear being punished,” said Calì.

That may explain why the EU’s competition watchdog has been so slow to approve a proposed partial takeover of Italy’s national flag carrier ITA by Germany airline Lufthansa.

The Commission has repeatedly insisted that Lufthansa must give away a certain number of its slots at Milan’s Linate airport in compliance with EU competition rules in order for the deal to go ahead.

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