Italy Strike LIVE: 750+ Flights Cancelled TODAY — Rome, Milan, Venice, Verona Paralysed — Rail Shutdown in 14 Hours — Your €250–€600 Claim Starts NOW

🔴 LIVE STRIKE COVERAGE | Published: February 26, 2026 | Last Updated: February 26, 2026, 7:00 AM CET

Strike Status: 🔴 ACTIVE — 00:01 to 23:59 CET — RIGHT NOW
Flights at Risk: 750+ flights scrapped or severely delayed across all Italian airports
ITA Airways: 55% of schedule cancelled — 250–300 flights — ALL confirmed and live
easyJet Italy: 24-hour pilot and cabin crew walkout — 00:01 to 24:00 CET
Vueling: 4-hour ground staff walkout — 13:00 to 17:00 CET
Ground Handling: ALL Italian airports — full 13:00–17:00 walkout (affects EVERY airline)
Protected Hours: 07:00–10:00 ✅ and 18:00–21:00 ✅ — long-haul and island routes fully protected
Danger Zone: 10:00–18:00 CET — 70% of daily flights UNPROTECTED — mass cancellations active
Rail Shutdown Countdown: ⏱️ 14 hours — Trenitalia, Italo, FS Group all stop at 21:00 tonight
Feb 27 Rail Status: NO trains Rome–Milan–Florence–Venice from 21:00 tonight to 20:59 tomorrow
Airports Hit: Rome Fiumicino (FCO), Milan Malpensa (MXP), Milan Linate (LIN), Venice Marco Polo (VCE), Verona (VRN), Bologna (BLQ), Naples (NAP)
EU261 Cash Compensation: €250–€600 per person — BUT only for ITA/easyJet staff cancellations — NOT ground handling (see full guide below)
March 7 Next Strike: Air traffic controllers — 4-hour action — Paralympics disruption risk
Passengers at Risk Today: 25,000–27,000+ across all carriers

---

The strike is active. It started at midnight. It runs until midnight tonight. And as of 7:00 AM CET this morning, the damage is already visible across every departure board at every major Italian airport.

Contingency timetables published by Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino, Venice Marco Polo and Verona airports indicate that more than 750 flights could be scrapped or severely delayed today. The industrial action is expected to impact tens of thousands of passengers, in addition to potential cancellations or disruptions on the days before and after the strike.

This is the live coverage article. Your job right now — whether you are at the airport, at your hotel, or trying to reach a stranded family member — is to find out exactly which category your flight falls into, what you are owed, and what your next move should be. Everything you need is in this article.

---

The Strike Map: Who Is Walking Out, When, and Where

Three separate walkouts are running simultaneously today, overlapping in ways that create total paralysis at Italian airports for most of the working day:

🔴 Action 1 — ITA Airways Staff: 00:01 to 23:59 CET (FULL DAY)

ITA Airways’ unions — including pilots, cabin crew, and ground staff — are on a 24-hour walkout covering the entire calendar day. ITA Airways has cancelled roughly 55% of its scheduled flights for February 26, but not a single long-haul flight on the protected list. The cancellations are live in the ITA system right now. If you have not already checked your ITA flight, do it now at itaairways.com.

🔴 Action 2 — easyJet Italy Pilots and Cabin Crew: 00:01 to 24:00 CET (FULL DAY)

EasyJet Airlines Limited pilots and flight attendants are striking for 24-hour duration, from 00:01 to 24:00. Projected easyJet Italy cancellations: 180–220 flights. Milan Malpensa is the worst-affected airport for easyJet. Critically: only easyJet’s Italy-based crew are striking. Flights crewed from the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, or Spain may still operate — but they will still face ground handling disruptions at Italian airports.

🟠 Action 3 — Ground Handling Staff: 13:00 to 17:00 CET (4 Hours — ALL Carriers)

The strike involves ground handling crews, check-in staff, airline employees and some cabin crew at select carriers. The ground handling walkout from 13:00 to 17:00 runs at every Italian airport and affects every airline — not just ITA and easyJet. Ryanair, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates, and every other carrier operating from Italy today will face check-in slowdowns, baggage loading delays, and gate processing disruption during the 13:00–17:00 window.

🟡 Action 4 — Vueling Staff: 13:00 to 17:00 CET (4 Hours)

Vueling’s Italian staff are joining the ground handling walkout with their own 4-hour action from 13:00 to 17:00. Projected Vueling cancellations: 40–60 flights concentrated in the afternoon window.

---

The Protected Hours: The ONLY Safe Windows Today

The strike cannot affect flights scheduled to depart between 7 AM and 10 AM, and then between 6 PM and 9 PM. Usually, all long-haul flights are also excluded from the strike action by the regulator, as well as some regional flights from the islands.

Protected Window 1 — Morning: 07:00–10:00 CET ✅ Departures scheduled in this window must operate under Italian Law 146/1990. ENAC has published the protected flight list. If your flight departs between 7 and 10 AM, you are in the safest possible position today.

Protected Window 2 — Evening: 18:00–21:00 CET ✅ Same protection applies. If you have an evening departure between 6 and 9 PM, your flight is legally protected.

Also protected regardless of time:

• Long-haul intercontinental flights (Rome–New York, Milan–Tokyo, etc.) — fully excluded
• Flights to Sicily (Palermo, Catania) and Sardinia (Cagliari, Olbia, Alghero) — island connectivity protected
• Emergency, humanitarian, and state/military flights — always protected

The Danger Zone: 10:00–18:00 CET 🔴 If your flight departs between 10 AM and 6 PM today — you are in the maximum cancellation zone. Wide-scale cancellations and crew re-rostering will cascade across the entire network outside the protected windows. Check your flight status immediately.

---

Airport-by-Airport Status: 7:00 AM CET

✈️ Rome Fiumicino (FCO) — 🔴 SEVERE

ITA Airways’ primary hub. The worst single airport for today’s action. FCO is ITA’s home base — the 55% schedule cut is most concentrated here. Ground handling action from 13:00 adds a second wave of disruption after the morning protected window closes at 10:00. Departure boards are showing the ITA cancellation pattern clearly — morning departures mostly operating, afternoon board filling with cancellations.

Current advice: If you are at FCO and your flight is between 10:00 and 18:00 — go directly to the ITA, easyJet, or your airline’s service desk before joining any queue. Get written confirmation of your cancellation and your rebooking options now, before the queue length makes this impractical.

✈️ Milan Malpensa (MXP) — 🔴 SEVERE

easyJet’s primary Italian hub. Malpensa is where easyJet’s Italy-based crew walkout hits hardest. Combined with the ground handling action from 13:00, Malpensa is the second most disrupted airport today. Airports likely to feel the impact include Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate, Rome Fiumicino, Venice Marco Polo, and Verona Valerio Catullo.

Malpensa Express train: Operating this morning. If you need to reach Malpensa from central Milan, the train is your fastest option. However, this service faces disruption tonight after 21:00 when the rail strike begins.

✈️ Milan Linate (LIN) — 🔴 HIGH

12 ITA pre-cancellations originated here yesterday as advance warning. Today’s live ITA cancellations are concentrated heavily at Linate. Linate handles primarily short-haul and domestic routes — exactly the routes most vulnerable to strike action.

✈️ Venice Marco Polo (VCE) — 🟠 HIGH

February is peak season for Venice — the tail end of Carnival drew hundreds of thousands of visitors this month. Any traveler trying to fly home from Venice today after Carnival faces a brutal combination of peak demand and strike-reduced capacity. Check your flight before going to the airport.

✈️ Verona Valerio Catullo (VRN) — 🟠 ELEVATED

Named in all four official strike contingency timetables. Primarily a leisure destination airport — but today’s ground handling action affects all carriers operating here.

✈️ Bologna (BLQ), Naples (NAP), Bergamo (BGY) — 🟡 DISRUPTED

Disruptions confirmed at secondary airports, primarily through ground handling action from 13:00 and ITA cancellations. Ryanair operates heavily from Bergamo — not part of the airline-specific strikes but faces ground handling disruptions this afternoon.

---

Your EU261 Rights: The Critical Legal Distinction You Must Understand

This is the most important section of this article — and the detail that most passengers at Italian airports today will get wrong.

Your compensation rights depend entirely on which specific action caused your cancellation. There are two separate causes at play today, and they have completely different legal consequences.

Scenario A: Your ITA Airways or easyJet Flight Was Cancelled — Staff Strike

Staff strikes are NOT considered extraordinary under EC 261/2004, and cash compensation applies in the case of long delays and/or flight cancellations.

If ITA Airways or easyJet cancelled your flight because their own pilots, cabin crew, or staff are on strike — this is an internal airline staff strike. The European Court of Justice has ruled that internal staff strikes are within the airline’s sphere of control. You are entitled to full EU261 compensation.

Your rights — full EU261 package:

Right 1: Full Refund OR Rebooking (your choice) The airline must offer you a full refund to your original payment method, OR rebooking on the next available flight to your final destination at no extra cost. You choose — not the airline.

Right 2: Duty of Care (regardless of cause)

• Meals and refreshments proportionate to waiting time (2+ hours)
• Hotel accommodation if overnight stay required
• Ground transport between airport and hotel

Right 3: Cash Compensation (€250–€600 per person)

Reduced by 50% if rerouted and arriving within 2 hours (short), 3 hours (medium), or 4 hours (long) of original scheduled arrival.

How to claim today at the airport:

1. Request written confirmation from the airline at the service desk stating: (a) your flight is cancelled, (b) the reason is strike action by airline staff
2. Keep this document — it is your compensation evidence
3. Request your Duty of Care entitlements: meal voucher immediately, hotel if overnight required
4. File your cash compensation claim at the airline’s website within 14 days
5. If refused: escalate to ENAC (Italy’s aviation authority) or AirHelp (airhelp.com — no-win-no-fee)

---

Scenario B: Your Non-ITA/easyJet Flight Was Disrupted by Ground Handling Strike

Where cancellations are attributable to airport-handling strikes — normally deemed an “extraordinary circumstance” — passengers are still entitled to rerouting or a refund but not financial damages.

If you are flying Ryanair, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, or any other carrier (not ITA or easyJet) and your flight is cancelled due to the ground handling walkout from 13:00–17:00 — the airline will classify this as an “extraordinary circumstance.” In this case:

✅ You ARE entitled to: Full refund OR rebooking — your choice
✅ You ARE entitled to: Duty of Care (meals, hotel, transport)
❌ You are NOT entitled to: The €250–€600 cash compensation

This is the key legal distinction. Know which category you are in before you file a claim.

---

Quick EU261 Reference Card — Print or Screenshot This

---

What to Do RIGHT NOW: The 10-Minute Action Plan

If you are at the airport right now with a cancelled flight:

Step 1 — Get your cancellation in writing. Go to the airline’s service desk (not the general airport information desk — the specific airline desk). Request written confirmation of the cancellation and the stated reason. Do not leave without this document.

Step 2 — Choose: rebooking or refund. You have the right to either. The airline cannot force a travel credit on you. Ask: “I want a full refund to my original payment method” or “I want to be rebooked on the next available flight to [destination].” State your choice clearly.

Step 3 — Request your meal voucher now. If your delay is already 2+ hours, you are entitled to a meal voucher. Ask for it explicitly at the service desk — it will not be offered automatically.

Step 4 — If overnight: request hotel and transport. The airline must provide hotel accommodation (or reimburse reasonable hotel costs up to approximately €150–€200 per night) and ground transport between the airport and hotel. Request this in writing.

Step 5 — Document everything. Photograph your boarding pass, the departure board showing your flight as cancelled, any airline communications, and all receipts for meals, transport, and accommodation you pay for out of pocket.

---

If you are at your hotel and have not yet gone to the airport:

Step 1 — Check your flight on the airline’s app right now. Do not go to the airport without knowing your flight’s live status. If it is cancelled, you can rebook remotely — and avoid the airport queue entirely.

Step 2 — If your flight is in the 10:00–18:00 danger zone and still showing “on time” — be sceptical. Ground handling disruptions from 13:00 may cause your flight to show as operating until the last moment, then cancel. Set a real-time alert on your airline’s app.

Step 3 — If your flight is in the 07:00–10:00 protected window — go now. Airports are busy with protected-window passengers trying to depart before the strike bites hard. Allow extra time. Check in online before leaving your hotel.

Step 4 — Know your Trenitalia cutoff tonight. If you are planning to travel by train later today or tomorrow — your last reliable train is before 21:00 tonight. The rail strike begins at 21:00 and runs until 20:59 tomorrow. If you miss that window, you will not have a train option until Saturday evening.

---

If you are trying to help a family member or colleague who is stranded:

Step 1 — Alternative airports. The nearest operational alternatives to Italy’s major airports today: From Rome → consider Ciampino (CIA) for some Ryanair operations; From Milan → Bergamo Orio al Serio (BGY) has lower disruption risk for Ryanair services; From Venice → Treviso (TSF) may have limited Ryanair alternatives.

Step 2 — Alternative routes out of Italy. Corporate-travel managers are advising clients to re-route via Switzerland, Austria or France where possible. Zurich (ZRH), Geneva (GVA), Vienna (VIE), and Lyon (LYS) airports are all within 3–4 hour driving distance of Milan and are operating normally today. If a stranded traveler in Milan can hire a car and drive to Zurich or Geneva, normal Swiss/Austrian flight connections are available.

Step 3 — The Milan–Rome train window. High-speed Frecciarossa trains are operating right now and will continue until 21:00 tonight. The Rome–Milan journey takes 3 hours on the high-speed network. If your stranded traveler is in one city and needs to reach the other city’s airport, this window is available now and closing in 14 hours.

---

The Rail Shutdown Countdown: 14 Hours Left

Tonight at 21:00 CET, the second act of Italy’s transport shutdown begins.

Rail services in Italy are also scheduled to be affected by national strikes from the evening of 27 February through the evening of 28 February, which may limit alternative travel options immediately following the aviation action.

Specifically: Trenitalia, Italo, and FS Group — the three operators covering the entire Italian national rail network — will all stop accepting new departures from 21:00 tonight. Any train scheduled to depart after 21:00 on the evening of February 27 is cancelled. Service will not resume until guaranteed windows on February 28 (06:00–09:00 and 18:00–21:00).

The double-stranded trap: The most dangerous scenario is a passenger whose flight is cancelled today and who attempts to book a train for tomorrow morning — only to discover the trains are also cancelled. This is not hypothetical. It happened to thousands of passengers after the February 16 strike, and the same pattern is playing out today.

Your last window: board a long-distance train BEFORE 21:00 tonight.

Key journeys and estimated departure times needed to complete them before 21:00:

• Rome → Milan (3 hours): last safe departure approximately 17:30–18:00 tonight
• Rome → Florence (1.5 hours): last safe departure approximately 19:00 tonight
• Milan → Venice (2.5 hours): last safe departure approximately 18:00 tonight
• Naples → Rome (1.5 hours): last safe departure approximately 19:00 tonight

Book now at trenitalia.com or italotreno.it — not at the station.

---

Malpensa Express: What Happens If You Miss the Train Tonight

For travelers who need to reach Malpensa Airport from Milan during the rail strike period:

The national strike will last from 12:01 am to 11:59 pm on Thursday, with the strike also impacting the rail industry, potentially causing further disruption to air passengers who may have instead attempted to make their journeys by train.

If the Malpensa Express is cancelled during the rail strike window, Trenord has confirmed replacement buses operating between Milano Cadorna (Via Paleocapa 1) and Malpensa Airport for the RE54 line, and between Stabio and Malpensa Airport for the S50 route.

These replacement buses will be crowded. They will operate on reduced frequency. Do not leave getting to Malpensa Airport to the last minute during the rail strike window — the replacement bus is a backup, not a reliable primary option.

---

The February Strike Scoreboard: Italy’s Worst Aviation Month in Years

Today’s action is the fourth major Italy aviation disruption event in February 2026. Here is the full February timeline:

Italy’s aviation sector has been in continuous labour conflict since late January. The action underscores ongoing labour tensions in Italy’s transport sector, where inflation-linked wage demands and the cost of integrating new safety regulations have fuelled industrial unrest. Negotiations between unions and the carriers/airport operators remain unresolved. The March 7 air traffic controller action is the next scheduled confrontation — directly coinciding with the Winter Paralympics period at Milan-Cortina.

---

How to File Your EU261 Compensation Claim

Do not file at the airport today. The paperwork process is online and should be done within 7–14 days of your cancelled flight, with full documentation. Here is the step-by-step process:

For ITA Airways: File at itaairways.com/complaints — look for the EU261 compensation form under Customer Service. Include your booking reference, flight number, date, and the written cancellation confirmation you received at the airport.

For easyJet: File via the easyJet app or at easyjet.com/claim. easyJet’s automated claim system typically processes straightforward strike-related claims within 14–28 days.

For Vueling: File at vueling.com/claim.

If the airline refuses within 8 weeks: Escalate to an alternative dispute resolution body:

• Italy: ENAC — enac.gov.it
• UK (if ticket issued from UK): UK Civil Aviation Authority — caa.co.uk/passengers
• No-win-no-fee claims management: AirHelp (airhelp.com), ClaimCompass (claimcompass.eu), Flightright (flightright.com)

The evidence you need:

• Your original booking confirmation
• Written cancellation notice from the airline (with reason stated)
• Your replacement travel receipts (hotel, alternative flight, transport, meals)
• Your credit card statement showing original ticket purchase

Claims can be filed up to 3 years after the event in most EU jurisdictions, and up to 6 years under UK law.

---

Quick Reference: Emergency Contacts — Italy Strike February 26

---

Bottom Line: The Five Things to Do in the Next Hour

1. Check your specific flight on your airline’s app right now. Not the airport departure board — it lags. The airline app has live status.

2. If cancelled: go to the service desk and get written confirmation before the queues grow. It is 7:00 AM. The queues will be manageable now. They will not be at noon.

3. Know your EU261 category. ITA/easyJet cancellation = €250–€600 cash is yours. Ground handling cancellation = no cash comp, but full refund and duty of care. Both are valuable — claim both.

4. Book your train before 21:00 tonight if you need one. The rail shutdown starts in 14 hours. This deadline is hard and it is real.

5. March 7 is coming. If you are flying to or from Italy in the first two weeks of March, monitor the ATC strike situation. Italy’s labour calendar has at least one more confirmed aviation action ahead.

Italy is open. Italy is beautiful. And Italy’s aviation workers are in a legitimate dispute that you, as a passenger, have legal tools to navigate. Know your rights, act now, and do not let the chaos of the day prevent you from claiming what the law says is yours.

---

Published: February 26, 2026. Information sourced from ITIJ (industry journal — February 26, 2026 live data), LoyaltyLobby (February 25, 2026 — ENAC protected flight list), AirHelp official strike advisory, Simple Flying (February 23, 2026), TravelPirates (February 24, 2026), VisaHQ Italy strike advisories (February 20 and 24, 2026), Euronews Travel (February 22, 2026), Business Travel News Europe, EU Regulation EC 261/2004 official text, Trenitalia official strike notice, Trenord Malpensa replacement bus notice, and official carrier statements from ITA Airways, easyJet, and Vueling. All strike timings and cancellation figures accurate as of 07:00 CET February 26, 2026. This article will be updated throughout the day.

---

For More Resources:

• ITA Airways Cancelled Flights + Rebooking: itaairways.com
• easyJet Disruption Claims: easyjet.com
• Vueling Claim Management: vueling.com
• ENAC Italy — Passenger Rights Complaints: enac.gov.it
• AirHelp EU261 No-Win-No-Fee Claims: airhelp.com
• Rome Fiumicino Live Status: adr.it/fiumicino
• Milan Malpensa Live Status: milanomalpensa-airport.com
• Trenitalia Train Booking (before 21:00 tonight): trenitalia.com
• Italo Train Booking (before 21:00 tonight): italotreno.it
• Trenord Malpensa Replacement Bus: trenord.it
• EU261 Official Passenger Rights: europa.eu/youreurope/travel

Related Articles:

• Italy Triple Strike Warning February 26–28: ITA/easyJet 24hr + Rail 48hr — Pre-Cancellations Start Feb 25
• Italy Strike Aftermath February 18, 2026: Recovery + Next Strike Announced
• Brussels Airport Shutdown March 12: All Flights Cancelled — Belgium Nationwide Strike
• Best Travel Credit Cards 2026

Posted By : Vinay

As a lead contributor for Travel Tourister, Vinay is dedicated to serving our Tier 1 audience (US, UK, Canada, Australia). His mission is to deliver precise, fact-checked news and actionable, data-driven articles that empower readers to make informed decisions, minimize travel risks, and maximize their adventure without compromising safety or budget.