Holiday travellers flying through Europe this Christmas risk getting caught up in a wave of industrial action as poorly paid aviation workers launch strikes targeting the year’s busiest travel days.
Staff in three countries have planned walkouts demanding better wages and conditions, with some announcing action just hours before passengers arrive at terminals. Airlines warn the disruption could trigger knock-on delays lasting well beyond the official strike windows.
Italian aviation workers down tools mid-December
Aviation staff across Italy will stage a four-hour stoppage on 17 December, hitting airports during the afternoon peak between 1 pm and 5 pm.
The action brings together air traffic controllers in Rome, baggage handlers and check-in staff at major hubs, and cabin crew from carriers including the national airline ITA Airways, plus Vueling and Air France-KLM subsidiaries.
Travellers using Milan, Rome, Venice, Naples and Catania airports should brace for backed-up security queues and delayed departures stretching into the evening. Airlines operating through Italian airports—including Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet—will see their ground operations disrupted.
London terminals hit by twin Christmas walkouts
Ground crew serving easyJet flights at Luton will walk off the job twice during the holiday period: first from 19 to 22 December, then again from 26 to 29 December. Passengers can expect slower check-in processing and baggage delivery.
Heathrow faces its own problems as cabin crew employed by Scandinavian Airlines Services refuse to work from 22 to 24 December and again on Boxing Day. Services to Nordic capitals including Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo will bear the brunt.
The SAS workers say their earnings have fallen so low they depend on food banks when overnighting in expensive Scandinavian cities, according to their union. Unite regional officer Callum Rochford accused the airline of “real Grinch-style behaviour”, adding that management was “taking advantage of the goodwill of its staff and will now be responsible for cancelled Christmas flights”.
Spanish baggage handlers maintain rolling stoppages
Workers employed by Azul Handling—the company managing Ryanair’s ground operations across Spain—have been staging repeated walkouts since the summer in a dispute over pay, bonuses and job security.
The pattern continues through New Year’s Eve, with staff refusing to work on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during three slots: early morning from 5 am to 9 am, lunchtime from noon to 3 pm, and late evening from 9 pm to midnight.
Ryanair passengers moving through a dozen Spanish airports will face the consequences. The affected terminals span the country’s busiest holiday destinations: Alicante, Barcelona-El Prat, Girona, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Madrid-Barajas, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Tenerife South and Valencia.