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Airline, airport strikes in Italy could impact your flights this weekend. Here’s how.

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Airline, airport strikes in Italy could impact your flights this weekend. Here’s how.

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Travelers flying through Italy this weekend may want to brace themselves for potential disruptions.

Labor unions representing workers at airlines ITA Airways and Wizz Air called for strikes on Saturday. Air traffic controllers at Rome Fiumicino Airport also have planned work stoppages, along with ground crews at Florence Airport, Peretola; Milan Malpensa Airport; and Pisa International Airport.

“Airport delays, and flight cancellations and disruptions are likely throughout Sept. 7,” risk management and crisis response firm Crisis24 said in an alert. “The action will likely impact services in subsequent hours as authorities address the backlog. Groups of striking workers could gather near airports throughout the day.”

Here’s what to know.

When are the strikes?

The work stoppages are scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m. local time.

How could travelers be impacted?

“During these labor actions, airports triage the number of landings and takeoffs and typically give priority to larger, intercontinental flights,” Scott Keyes, founder of Going, told USA TODAY in an email. “That’s good news for those flying from the U.S., and worse news for those flying within Europe.”

Some flights, including incoming international connections, are deemed essential by the Italian Civil Aviation Authority. Those can be found here. National law guarantees flights between 7 and 10 a.m. and 6 and 9 p.m. as well, according to Crisis24.

“Wizz Air plans to minimize the impact of this strike action,” the airline told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “Customers will be notified, if necessary, through standard communication channels. Wizz Air regrets the potential inconvenience to passengers.”

ITA told USA TODAY the airline is not currently expecting any cancellations or other disruptions due to the strike among its workers. 

Airline strikes rarely happen in the U.S. because of “strict federal rules requiring rounds of negotiations, mediation, cooling off periods, and other hurdles” before they can take place, Keyes noted.

“But in Europe those rules are much more permissive, and there’s a history of sporadic labor actions throughout society, including air travel,” he said. “Plus the air travel unions are far more fragmented than in the U.S., each with the ability to grind flights to a halt.”

Unions representing the airline’s workers did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s requests for comment on Saturday’s actions.

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What can travelers do if their flights are impacted?

European Union rules state that passengers with canceled flights are entitled to have their ticket reimbursed (and a return flight in the case of a connection), be rerouted or rebooked at a later date. E.U. air passenger rights apply to those flying on E.U.-based airlines and all carriers for flights within or departing from the E.U. They may also be owed compensation if they were notified less than two weeks before departure. Passengers also have the right to receive assistance during their wait, such as food and accommodations.

Flyers are not entitled to compensation if a carrier can prove a cancellation was the result of “extraordinary circumstances,” though a strike organized by its trade union staff to support worker demands does not fall under that category.

“Therefore, internal strike action does not release the airline from its obligation to pay compensation in the event of cancellation or long delay of flights,” the E.U. website reads. “However, strikes ‘external’ to the airline, such as strike action taken by air traffic controllers or airport staff, may constitute an extraordinary circumstance.” In these instances, airlines must provide assistance for rerouting and care, such as meals, when waiting for alternate transportation.

U.S. Department of Transportation rules also apply to flights between the U.S. and Italy.

Keyes recommended travelers get in touch with their carrier. “If you have a flight to Italy scheduled for Sept. 7 and have flexibility, it’s worth contacting your airline and seeing if they’ll push your itinerary back a day or two,” he said. “In these situations it’s common for them to do so, free of charge.”

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

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