Italian pilots and cabin crew from several low-cost carriers will walk off the job on 1 October, after labour unions Filt-Cgil and Uiltrasporti called a national strike action to fight for better pay and working conditions.
Staff from Ryanair, Easyjet and Volotea will strike for 24 hours, while those from Vueling will stop work for four hours, between 1pm and 5pm. While planes remain grounded, protests will take place between 10am and 2pm at airports in Milan Malpensa, Pisa, Rome Ciampino and Naples.
The joint action is expected to disrupt travel for more than 300,000 people, according to a report by national newspaper Corriere della Sera.
The two unions called for the action, they explained, after strikes this summer failed to prompt negotiations with the carriers.
In a joint statement the unions said airline staff in Italy are demanding “contracts that guarantee decent working conditions and salaries at least in line with the minimum wages provided for in our country's national air transport contract”.
The strikes will also oppose 17 planned redundancies for Vueling flight attendants based at Rome Fiumicino Airport. The unions called for "a confrontation to avoid dismissals" in addition to compliance with legislation protecting maternity and paternity allowances as well as the exemption from night work for mothers with young children.
Airports in Venice, Milan and Naples have warned of flight delays and cancellations as a result of the strike, the second in less than a month after ground handlers across the peninsula stopped work on 12 September.