Expected from 10 to 18. Ita cancels 133 flights
Travel at risk tomorrow, Saturday 15 July 2023, for those traveling by plane. Heavy inconvenience is in fact expected due to the strike in the time slots from 10 to 18. According to an estimate by ItaliaRimborso, over 270,000 Italian travelers may suffer a disruption due to canceled flights and delays of up to 8 hours. Enac has released the list of guaranteed flights, which concern aircraft movements to and from Italy. Just consult the following link where all the guaranteed air routes are present.
Ita Airways has canceled 133 domestic and international flights (THE LIST), at the same time activating an extraordinary plan to limit passenger inconvenience, rebooking the largest possible number of travelers involved in the cancellations on the first available flights: 40% will be able to fly on the same day of the strike, we read on the company’s website. “ITA Airways invites all travelers who have purchased a ticket for the day of the strike, to check the status of their flight, before going to the airport, on the ita-airways.com website, in the Info Flights section, or by contacting the agency from which they purchased the ticket”, it is underlined. “Passengers who have purchased an Ita Airways ticket to travel on July 15th, in the event of cancellation or modification of the time of their flight, will be able to change the booking without any penalty or request a refund of the ticket (only if the flight has been canceled or has been delayed by more than 5 hours) no later than 22 July 2023, by calling the toll-free number from Italy 800 93 60 90 | from abroad +39 06 8596 0020, or by contacting the trip where they bought the ticket”, they also let it be known.
THE REASONS FOR THE PROTEST
The abstention from work, explain Filt-Cgil, Fit-Cisl, Uiltrasporti and Ugl, was proclaimed in support of the dispute for the renewal of the employment contract which had expired for 6 years. Saturday 15, from 12 to 16, the Malta Air pilots which operates Ryanair flights. Filt Cgil, Uiltrasporti and Ugl Trasporto Aereo proclaimed the unitary national strike “following the signing by some subjects of a totally unsatisfactory agreement for the pilots category and given the company’s total closure to dialogue and confrontation”, unions say.
According to the three trade union organizations, this is “an absolutely unsatisfactory agreement and little respect for the professionalism and contribution that the flight crew has ensured and which, in particular, in the post-pandemic phase, has allowed the company to significantly increase profitability”.
REFUNDS
In the event of a strike in the national air sector, the passenger is not entitled to financial compensation, but can buy a new alternative flight at his own expense, even with a different airline than the one initially chosen. This occurs if the passenger is not adequately re-protected by the air carrier. These sums disbursed as a result of the airline strike can be reimbursed, as well as the costs of any other means of transport used to get to the originally scheduled destination, any extra hotel nights and meals on the days in which the airline disruption was caused.
“The summer season has come to life and the growth of the destinations offered by the airlines in recent weeks is evident – says Felice D’Angelo, CEO of ItaliaRimborso -. Proportionally, however, air disruptions have grown, as have strikes, where the passenger may suffer a flight delay or cancellation. The traveller, if not re-protected by the air carrier with a new flight, can certainly replace the assistance of the airline and bear all the expenses to reach the pre-established destination. In this case it will then be possible to initiate a claim for reimbursement of expenses, by contacting the air carrier or a claim company directly”.
The administrator of ItaliaRimborso, which provides free assistance to passengers who are victims of airline disruptions, clarifies the traveller’s rights in the event of a strike: “In the event of a strike in the airline sector, the passenger is not entitled to the pecuniary compensation envisaged by EU Regulation 261 /2004, which varies from 250 to 600 euros, but only and exclusively the reimbursement of expenses to reach the destination, if these are proven by receipts and/or invoices”.
Source-www.adnkronos.com