Watch out for these September strikes in France and Italy

Travellers should check their calendars and adapt their travel plans accordingly

The summer season is slowly winding down, however, labour strikes that affected many of the holidaymakers’ vacations in the past three months, are also scheduled to happen in September. And once again these actions will occur in strike-prone countries, such as France and Italy.

Here are some of the dates that you should watch out for if you’re planning a trip to these two countries in the coming days.

Italy: air and land transport strikes

For fliers to and from Italy, there are two important days to stay vigilant. On 16 September, air traffic controllers will walk out between 10:00 and 18:00, which means that many flights will be affected during that time band.

Italy's civil aviation authority (ENAC), however, will publish a list of guaranteed flights a few days before the strike. It seems that some airlines have negotiated the protection of services despite the dispute.

Then later this month, on 29 September, airport baggage handlers across the country will also walk out of their jobs for 24 hours. They are demanding wage increases as a way to withstand inflation.

That kind of strike doesn’t affect the flights directly, but it can affect the situation at the airports and can cause significant delays with the luggage procession. It would be best to travel light and only with carry-on luggage, if possible.

Furthermore, on 18 September, the Italian public transport industry will come to a standstill due to a nationwide strike. This will affect metro, tram and bus services in all major cities, and as a consequence probably more traffic jams on the roads.

French strikes to affect Rugby World Cup

French cities are already hosting the Rugby World Cup, which is a major sports event drawing in thousands of visitors. However, French air traffic controllers, whether they are rugby fans or not, are also disgruntled with their salary situation and their union has called for a strike on 15 September (and another on 13 October), which could cause massive flight cancellations and delays.

The Rugby World Cup will go on until 28 October, which means that visitors are likely to experience some traditional French transport disruptions on the ground as well. Workers at the Paris Metro stations have threatened to walk out of their jobs at some point during the event, using it as a leverage. Negotiations are still underway.