Strikes are a regular feature of Italian travel, and summer 2026 is no exception, with industrial action rolling across airports into July. The good news is that Italian law forces airlines to keep some flights running even on strike days. These are the voli garantiti, or guaranteed flights. Here is how to find out whether yours is one of them.
What is new: ENAC still says protected aviation strike windows are 7 to 10 and 18 to 21, and the airline remains the operational source for whether a specific flight will run. That matters ahead of July 5, because Italy’s MIT calendar now lists multiple aviation actions that day, including national airport-sector actions and EasyJet crew stoppages.
Use the guaranteed-flight list as the first screen, then confirm with the carrier and airport because later July entries now include July 21 air-service actions at Lamezia Terme and Malpensa. If your flight is outside a protected band, build in a backup route before assuming the flight will survive the strike day unchanged.
What is new: ENAC has now posted the July 5 guaranteed-flights notice. Use that strike-specific page in addition to the standing voli garantiti page, because the standing page explains the rule while the July 5 notice confirms the current list has been published.
Check ENAC’s July 5 notice first, then match the flight against the airline’s own status tools. If the airline status and the general protected-flight rule disagree, treat the airline and airport confirmation as the operational source.
What voli garantiti means
Under Italian law 146 of 1990, strikes in essential public services, including air transport, cannot shut the system down completely. Airlines and the national civil aviation authority ENAC must publish a list of flights that are guaranteed to operate during each strike, and carriers have to run those protected services. That is why, even on a heavily disrupted day, a share of flights still departs close to schedule.
The protected time windows
For most aviation strikes, such as those by air traffic controllers or airline crews, flights are guaranteed during two protected bands: roughly 07:00 to 10:00 and 18:00 to 21:00. If you can book or rebook into those windows, you sharply cut your odds of being cancelled. Long haul and island connectivity flights are also frequently protected, even outside those hours.
The June 26 exception you should know
Not every strike has protected windows. The nationwide ground handling strike on 26 June 2026 runs a full 24 hours with no guaranteed bands for that category of worker, so the disruption risk is spread evenly across the whole day. If you are flying then, read our breakdown of the Italy airport strike calendar before you travel.
How to check your specific flight
Three steps give you a clear answer. First, check the strike notice your airline sends by email or posts on its website, which usually lists cancelled and protected flights. Second, look at the official guaranteed flights list that ENAC publishes for each strike day; search for “voli garantiti sciopero” on enac.gov.it. Third, check your flight status on the morning of travel, since schedules firm up close to departure.
If your flight is cancelled
You are always entitled to either a refund or rerouting to your destination. Whether you also get cash compensation depends on who is striking. When the airline’s own staff walk out, you may be owed compensation under EU passenger rules, much like a denied boarding case. National or third party strikes, such as airport wide or air traffic control action, are usually treated as extraordinary circumstances, so cash compensation generally does not apply, though the airline must still look after you and rebook you for free. The same pattern is playing out elsewhere in Europe, including recent Spain air traffic control strikes. For the full season, see our roundup of Italy airport strikes in summer 2026.
What does voli garantiti mean?
It is Italian for guaranteed flights, the services an airline must still operate during a strike under law 146 of 1990.
What are the protected strike windows in Italy?
For most aviation strikes, flights are guaranteed roughly between 07:00 and 10:00 and between 18:00 and 21:00.
Are flights guaranteed on June 26 2026?
No. The June 26 nationwide ground handling strike has no protected windows, so disruption can happen at any hour of the day.
Where do I find the guaranteed flights list?
Your airline publishes one for each strike, and Italy’s civil aviation authority ENAC posts the official list on enac.gov.it.
For broader planning, compare this update with Deep Arrival’s best airlines for long flights guide.
