Italy general strike 30 October 2026: trains and motorways

Rome, Milan, Florence, Naples: urban transport remains uncertain

The USI-CIT union explicitly excludes local public transport from its 30 October strike, according to its entry in the Commissione di garanzia and the register of the Italian transport ministry (MIT). The USB entry, for its part, does not mention urban transport. However, no operator had published a notice for the 30th as of 9 October, in Rome, Milan or Naples. A bus or metro may therefore run, but nothing guarantees it.

If you are in Rome on 30 October, a walking visit does not depend on transport once you are there. The Trastevere food tour, available on that date, is one example: the route is on foot through the neighbourhood, with no metro or bus needed.

Key points

• USB does not mention urban transport in its entry, and USI-CIT excludes it.
• In Naples, the local strike at operator Air Campania is on 28 October, from 8am to 4pm, not on the 30th.
• Operators usually publish their notices a few days before a strike: that is the signal to watch.

From Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 October

The table draws on the official entries of the Commissione di garanzia, with the USB entry first, and on the MIT register. A line in the table is not a cancelled journey: it marks a period during which the staff concerned may stop work.

Key points

• The heaviest rail period starts on the 29th in the evening and ends on the 30th at 8:59pm.
• The morning of the 30th is not safe either: the USB entry targets rail staff across the whole window, and no list of trains has been published.
• The Emilia-Romagna regional entry was the subject of a Commissione intervention on 6 October, for not respecting the strike’s hour-by-hour structure.

Trenitalia, Italo and regional trains

The USB entry refers to « rail activities » without naming the companies concerned. The FS group, which includes Trenitalia and RFI, is therefore probably affected. The entry does not name Italo or the regional operators: that remains an open question. As of 9 October, neither Trenitalia nor Italo had published a list of guaranteed trains for the 30th. The Trenitalia page on guaranteed trains sets out the general service bands, without naming any trains for this strike.

The guaranteed service bands in the rail sector agreement are 6am to 9am and 6pm to 9pm on working days, and 7am to 10am and 6pm to 9pm on public holidays. 30 October is an ordinary Friday. These bands show where the minimum service must run, not which trains will run. The USB entry does not say whether they apply to this particular strike.

Key points

• Check your train 48 hours before, then again on the morning of departure, on the operator’s app or website.
• For any journey within the window from 9pm on the 29th to 8:59pm on the 30th, book a ticket that can be changed or refunded.
• A departure before 9pm on the 29th, or after 9pm on the 30th, falls outside the USB rail window, but the 30th is still a general strike day.

Flights to and from Italy

The MIT register lists no air strike for 30 October. USI-CIT explicitly excludes air transport from its strike. The USB entry does not mention air travel: its heading, « all public and private categories », could in theory include it, but the entry does not say so. ENAC publishes a table of guaranteed flights only once an air strike has been called. As of 9 October, there is no table for the 30th.

In air transport, a strike must be announced at least 10 days in advance. The protected period from 30 October to 5 November, set by article 8 of the regulation taken up by ENAC, in principle bars any air strike on that day. The protected bands are 7am to 10am and 6pm to 9pm, and the first action cannot last more than 4 hours.

The nearest air strikes fall outside this window. According to press reports, an easyJet staff stoppage is announced for 16 October, and French calls target pilots and cabin crew from 17 to 21 October: the details of the French strikes are on Pixidia. Italian air traffic control (ENAV) has a strike on 6 November, from 1pm to 5pm, outside the protected period.

Key points

• Check your flight the day before in the airline’s app, then again on the morning of departure.
• If your flight leaves from France, the French strike from 17 to 21 October is a more concrete risk than Italy.
• A cancellation decided by the airline gives you specific rights (section 8).

Tolls: payment still due

The USB entry provides for motorway staff to stop from 10pm on 29 October, with no end time. It does not detail the categories concerned: operators, maintenance, roadside assistance. Autostrade per l’Italia had published no notice for that date as of 9 October, and its strike information page did not load when we checked.

No official source consulted says which toll lanes would be closed or kept open. Do not assume that a closed lane makes the journey free: the toll is still payable, whatever payment method you use.

Key points

• Keep a bank card or an active Telepass (the Italian electronic toll badge), and check it before you leave.
• Allow 30 to 60 minutes’ margin on busy routes, especially late in the day.
• On a long journey, leaving before 10pm on the 29th keeps you off the motorway network during the most uncertain stretch.

Ferries, schools, healthcare and counters

No maritime strike has been called for 29 or 30 October in the register we checked. USI-CIT explicitly excludes maritime transport, and the USB entry does not mention it. For a crossing to Sardinia, Sicily or a mainland port, check directly with the ferry company: the European passenger rights rules do not cover ferries in the same way as air and rail.

On services, the USB entry covers healthcare from the first to the last shift on the 30th, and firefighters from 9am to 1pm. Emergency care remains available, but a booked appointment may be moved. In an emergency, call 112, the European emergency number. Schools are covered by the USI-CIT strike, and arrangements are set by each institution. Public offices, post offices or consulates may run a reduced service: check the website of your embassy or consulate before you go.

Key points

• For a ferry, the reference is the company, with its own refund conditions.
• For a medical emergency or a police matter, call 112.
• Do not book an administrative appointment for the 30th without written confirmation.

Why the date of the 30th raises a question

In Italy, the law of 12 June 1990 governs the right to strike in essential public services, including transport. It sets protected periods during which no strike is allowed. For rail, the 1999 sector agreement, in the FS coordinated text of June 2025, sets the protected period from 30 October to 5 November, first and last day included. For air, the regulation taken up by ENAC applies the same period. The Commissione di garanzia, which reviews strike notices, can intervene on a strike up to a few days before the date.

The USB entry, which targets rail staff from 9pm on the 29th, therefore partly covers the first day of this protected period. As of 9 October, no Commissione intervention is published on that entry. This article does not settle the point: the strike may be changed or revoked before the 30th, and the legal status of the rail window remains to be established. In the same spirit of caution, the Emilia-Romagna regional entry has already been the subject of an intervention, on 6 October.

Key points

• The right words are « called » or « announced », not « legal » or « illegal »: none of these labels has been established so far.
• The protected period from 30 October to 5 November also covers Ognissanti (All Saints’) week.
• Only official entries and the MIT register count. A press report is neither a proclamation nor a cancellation.

Rail and air: the European rules

For trains, EU regulation 2021/782 provides for a refund of a cancelled journey within 30 days. For a significant delay, compensation is 25% of the ticket price for a delay of 60 to 119 minutes, and 50% from 120 minutes. National exemptions can limit these rules to regional or urban services: check the type of train on your journey. The details of the exemption cases are on Your Europe.

For flights, regulation EC 261/2004 provides flat-rate compensation of €250, €400 or €600 depending on distance, when the cancellation has a cause internal to the airline, such as a strike by its own staff. An external strike, for example by air traffic controllers, may count as an extraordinary circumstance: compensation then does not apply, but rerouting and care (meals, accommodation) remain due. Air passenger rights are summarised on Your Europe.

Key points

• Ask for the cause of the cancellation in writing: it determines your rights.
• Keep the cancellation notice, the ticket, and receipts for meals or accommodation.
• The operator’s own conditions can be more generous than the regulation.

Adapting the journey to your situation

The same 30 October does not affect every traveller in the same way. The table below matches your situation with the safest course of action, based on the entries as of 9 October.

Key points

• The risk is concentrated on rail between 9pm on the 29th and 8:59pm on the 30th.
• Travelling on foot or within the city during the day on the 30th is the least exposed scenario.

The five-step checklist

The strike calendar is known, but how it plays out depends on each operator and each day. Ognissanti (All Saints’) also weighs on travel: 1 November falls on a Sunday, and Monday 2 November is not a national public holiday in Italy. Friday 30 can therefore be used as a day off to stretch the weekend into a long weekend, which may add to traffic. No traffic forecast had been published as of 9 October. For background on the long weekend, see our guide to the All Saints’ long weekend in Italy.

The clocks go back to standard time on 25 October: check the times on your tickets and bookings. For an overnight journey, compare your options too. The clock change and night trains are covered on Pixidia, and a night train versus plane comparison helps you choose.

Key points

• Check the Commissione calendar and the MIT register on the day you leave.
• Check your train or flight 48 hours before, then again in the morning.
• Choose a changeable ticket for the evening of the 29th and for the 30th: it often costs more, but it avoids losing the price of the ticket.
• Keep the evidence: a screenshot of the notice, the cancellation email, and receipts for meals and accommodation.
• Prepare a plan B for the last leg of your trip: taxi, pre-booked transfer, bus or walking.