London Gatwick: Italian easyJet pilots to go on strike in October half-term

The walkouts, planned for Sunday, October 27, will see pilots employed by the budget airlines bases at Milan, Naples and Venice strike for four hours between 1pm and 5pm local time.

Travellers jetting off via easyJet have been urged to prepare for disruption to flights scheduled between these hours due to the airlines’ resources being stretched.

EasyJet flies to Milan, Naples and Venice via Gatwick.

In a statement published in The Independent, an easyJet spokesperson said: “EasyJet has been advised of strike action by UIL Trasporti, which represents some of its pilots based in Italy for four hours on October 27 between 13 and 17 local time, at its bases in Milan, Naples and Venice.

“We are committed to working constructively with our employee representatives in Italy and urge UIL to call off the action and come back to a constructive dialogue.

“We would like to reassure customers that we will do everything possible to minimise any disruption.”

The final weekend in October is often a busy weekend for air travel, falling either side of half-term breaks for schools across the UK.

Back in August, easyJet cancelled over 200 flights to and from Portugal as a result of a three-day strike by cabin crew in the country, representing around a sixth of flights it had been scheduled to operate.

Anton Radchenko, who heads up AirAdvisor, a company that helps travellers affected by disruption to their journeys claim compensation from airlines, said: “Our message is: be prepared for disruption and understand your rights as a passenger.

“While these strikes are unlikely to have as devastating an impact as August’s strikes in Portugal, if you’re travelling via easyJet on the 27th, expect delays to your journey.

“It’s also entirely possible that easyJet services in other destinations will be affected by these strikes, so keep a close eye on their website approaching the weekend if you’re set to travel.

“This can happen when delays to flights causes a kind of domino effect, where other flights end up missing their departure slot and are forced to take off later than planned.

“The good news is that from a compensation perspective, as these strikes are within easyJet’s control, in other words they could have prevented them from happening - should your flight be cancelled or delayed by over three hours you will be due between £350 and £520 for the inconvenience.

“If you can no longer board your intended flight, your airline must arrange alternative transportation to your destination, this can be a flight with a rival airline.

“Naturally, no-one wants their journey to be affected by this kind of disruption - but if you find yourself in a situation where you have a long wait at the airport, the airline must provide you with refreshments proportional to the waiting time.

“Following a disrupted journey we always suggest using a compensation calculator to establish what you might be owed."