Thousands of air passengers across Europe are facing a bruising February as a new wave of aviation strikes and operational disruption slams key hubs in Germany, Italy, Belgium, Greece and France. From mass cancellations at Lufthansa to air traffic control walkouts and nationwide transport stoppages, the strikes are rippling across the continent’s already stretched winter schedules, leaving travelers scrambling to protect their half-term holidays, ski breaks and Winter Olympics connections. Here is what is happening, how it affects different countries, and what it means for your rights and your upcoming trips in mid to late February 2026.
What Is Happening Right Now Across Europe’s Skies
The flashpoint of the current turmoil is Germany, where a coordinated 24 hour walkout by Lufthansa pilots and cabin crew on Thursday 12 February has forced the airline to cancel hundreds of flights and heavily reduce operations at its Frankfurt and Munich hubs. The stoppage, called by the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union and cabin crew union UFO after failed talks over pensions, job security and working conditions, has effectively shut down large parts of Lufthansa’s mainline network for a full operating day, with knock-on disruption spilling into Friday 13 February as aircraft and crews are repositioned.
Reports from major German airports indicate that thousands of passengers have been stranded or forced into last minute rebookings, with Lufthansa moving many travelers onto partner airlines within the wider group such as Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines. Domestic passengers have been offered the option to switch to rail on certain routes. While the airline expects to restore something close to normal operations from Friday, residual delays and missed connections are likely to continue into the weekend.
Germany’s disruption comes on top of an already difficult February for European flyers. In Italy, nearly 400 flights were delayed or canceled on 7 February across Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate, Bergamo and Catania due to a combination of staffing shortages, heavy rainfall and overburdened Carnival-season schedules. In France, a 48 hour strike by air traffic controllers on 9–10 February triggered schedule cuts of up to 50 percent at Paris Orly and 30 percent at Marseille, with around 180 flights canceled and average delays of one to two hours on many routes.
Belgium and Greece have also seen targeted stoppages and staffing actions at airports and within air traffic control over the past fortnight, contributing to a pattern of rolling disruption that has affected thousands of flights across the European network. While not every country is experiencing nationwide shutdowns at the same time, the interconnected nature of airline schedules means bottlenecks in one country quickly grow into a broader continental issue.
How Germany’s Lufthansa Strike Is Rippling Beyond Its Borders
The Lufthansa strike on 12 February is particularly disruptive because of the airline’s central role in European and long haul connectivity. Frankfurt and Munich are two of the continent’s most important hubs, funnelling passengers from across Europe into transatlantic, African and Asian routes. When activity at these airports slows or stops, the effects are felt from London to Lisbon and from Athens to Oslo as connecting passengers lose onward flights and aircraft are left out of position for subsequent legs.
Data from German airports shows that Lufthansa scrapped a large proportion of its departures on Thursday, including many short haul feeder flights that usually bring passengers from smaller European cities into Frankfurt and Munich. With pilots and cabin crew both participating, the airline’s options for operating a reduced skeleton schedule were sharply limited. Long haul services have not escaped the fallout either, with cancellations and consolidations reported on routes to North America and Asia.
Even travelers who are not flying Lufthansa directly may feel the impact. Codeshare itineraries sold by partner airlines, including United, Air Canada and several Asian carriers, often depend on Lufthansa-operated legs for one segment of a journey. Where those segments have disappeared, passengers have had to be rerouted through alternative hubs in Paris, Amsterdam, Zurich or Vienna, leading to crowding and delays across rival networks. For some, especially those with time-sensitive itineraries linked to the Winter Olympics in Italy or fixed cruise departures, the disruption may be impossible to fully repair.
The good news for passengers is that Lufthansa expects to resume regular operations from Friday 13 February, treating the strike as a contained 24 hour event. However, anyone scheduled to travel via Germany over the coming days should assume some lingering instability in the timetable and monitor flight status repeatedly until departure.
Italy, France, Belgium and Greece: A Patchwork of Strikes Through February
While Germany has dominated headlines this week, February’s aviation stress is by no means confined to one country. Italy has already endured heavy weather and staffing-related disruption and is braced for a fresh wave of industrial action in the second half of the month. Unions representing staff at ITA Airways, Italy’s flag carrier, have called a nationwide 24 hour strike on Monday 16 February, affecting pilots, flight attendants and ground staff. Most Italian airports, including Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate, Venice and Verona, are expected to see a large number of cancellations outside of legally mandated “protected” time bands.
Italian aviation regulations require airlines to maintain limited operations during two windows, 07:00 to 10:00 and 18:00 to 21:00, to guarantee essential travel. However, a significant proportion of ITA’s departures fall outside these windows, and with unions also calling action among ground handlers at Milan’s airports and cabin crew at other carriers like Vueling, the practical impact on travelers is likely to be serious. The industrial action comes on top of ongoing rail and road disruption elsewhere in Italy, making alternative rerouting challenging for those traveling to or around the country for Carnival or Winter Olympics events.
France is emerging from a 48 hour air traffic control strike that ran from 9 to 10 February and forced the civil aviation authority to order airlines to cut flights at key airports, particularly Paris Orly and Marseille. Hundreds of services were delayed or canceled, mainly on short haul and intra-European routes operated by Air France, easyJet, Ryanair and other carriers. With controllers voicing long running concerns over staffing levels and future pension arrangements, there is a clear risk of renewed strike calls later in the season, particularly around the Easter holiday period.
Belgium and Greece have so far experienced more localized and shorter actions involving airport staff and air traffic controllers, contributing to pockets of disruption and delays. In isolation, these stoppages might have been manageable, but when combined with Germany and France’s headline strikes and Italy’s looming walkouts, they create a patchwork of instability that makes precise travel planning far more difficult than usual for February.
What This Means for Your Upcoming Flights in February 2026
For travelers with imminent plans, the most important consideration is timing. The worst of the Lufthansa strike in Germany is concentrated on Thursday 12 February, with the airline aiming to restore regular operations from Friday 13 February. If your journey touches Frankfurt, Munich or Berlin in the next two to three days, you should still anticipate residual delays or missed connections as the network recovers, but mass same day cancellations should become less common as crews return to work and aircraft rotations normalize.
If you are flying to, from or within Italy around Monday 16 February, you face a much higher risk of significant disruption. The planned nationwide air transport strike targets that exact date, and early signs suggest that airlines will begin preemptive cancellations and rebookings in the days prior, both to reduce chaos on the ground and to comply with required schedule reductions. Travelers connecting to or from Italian airports for Winter Olympics events should particularly monitor their bookings, as demand for alternative routings is likely to be intense.
Passengers routing through France, Belgium or Greece in the second half of February should be alert but not necessarily alarmed. While the recent French air traffic control strike has ended, it may leave behind some shorter term staffing and scheduling imbalances. Belgium and Greece remain at risk of further localized protests, especially given broader cost-of-living tensions and prior strike activity in the transport sector, but there is not yet a confirmed calendar of major aviation strikes matching the scale of Germany’s Lufthansa stoppage or Italy’s upcoming national action.
Crucially, travelers should recognize that even if their particular country looks stable, strikes elsewhere in the network can still disrupt multi-leg itineraries. A single canceled feeder flight in Germany or France can cause missed connections onward to Spain, Scandinavia or the Balkans. Building in additional connection time, avoiding same-day intercontinental and short-haul connections where possible, and being flexible about routeings and carriers are all sensible strategies for this period.
Your Rights Under European Passenger Protection Rules
European Union regulations provide strong protections for passengers facing cancellations and delays on flights departing from, or arriving into, EU and EEA airports with EU-based airlines. Under these rules, airline staff strikes are generally not treated as “extraordinary circumstances,” meaning that if your flight is canceled on short notice or you arrive at your destination with a significant delay due to industrial action by the airline’s own employees, you may be entitled to both care and financial compensation.
In practical terms, this means that if your flight is canceled, you have the right to choose between a full refund of your ticket and rerouting to your final destination at the earliest opportunity, even if that means traveling with another carrier or on a different route. During the waiting period, airlines must provide meals, refreshments, and, where necessary, hotel accommodation and transportation between the airport and the hotel. If your arrival is delayed by several hours, you may also qualify for a cash compensation payment, the exact amount of which depends on the flight distance and length of delay.
There are some caveats. If the disruption is caused by factors clearly beyond the airline’s control, such as severe weather or air traffic control decisions unrelated to an airline dispute, carriers may argue that compensation is not owed, although care obligations often still apply. In mixed situations, where a strike coincides with bad weather or system problems, compensation eligibility can become more complex and may require formal claims or even legal action to resolve. Travelers should carefully keep all boarding passes, receipts and written notices from airlines in order to support any future claim.
It is also important not to confuse your rights under EU rules with any additional protections offered by travel insurance. Many policies provide supplemental coverage for missed connections, extended delays or extra accommodation expenses that may not be fully reimbursed by the airline. Reviewing the wording of your policy before traveling in a high-risk period like this February can help you understand what extra support you might have.
Practical Steps to Protect Your Trip
With so many moving pieces in Europe’s aviation landscape this month, preparation is more important than ever. The first step is to treat your airline’s app or website as your primary information hub. In the days leading up to departure, check your booking daily. On the day of travel, verify your flight status repeatedly until you physically leave for the airport. Many airlines will try to rebook you proactively if your flight is canceled, but in some cases you must accept or modify new options manually, and acting quickly can mean the difference between a same-day reroute and a long overnight delay.
Second, consider how much flexibility you have in your plans. If your journey involves tight, self-made connections on separate tickets, such as a low cost intra-European hop feeding into a long haul flight purchased separately, you are more exposed to disruption. Where possible, allow generous layovers or rebook so that all segments are on a single ticket and protected by the same airline or alliance. If you are traveling to a special event like the Winter Olympics or a cruise departure, think about arriving at least one day earlier than absolutely necessary, especially if your itinerary relies on either Germany or Italy in the coming weeks.
Third, assemble a basic “disruption kit” of information and documents. Make sure you have digital and printed copies of your itinerary, booking references, travel insurance policy and key contact numbers. If things go wrong, clearly documenting what occurred and when, along with saving any written communication from the airline, will make it much easier to claim compensation or reimbursement later. Photograph airport information screens showing delays if you can, and keep receipts for any out-of-pocket meals, hotels or transport you pay for during the disruption.
Finally, keep a calm but assertive mindset at the airport. Long lines at service desks and stressed ground staff are almost inevitable on major strike days. Knowing your rights, presenting your options politely but firmly, and being open to rerouting via alternative hubs can help you secure a workable solution faster than passengers who arrive at the desk unprepared. Remember that customer service agents did not call the strike but are often empowered to offer creative options if you approach them constructively.
Should You Change Your Plans or Avoid Europe Altogether?
For travelers contemplating whether to postpone or abandon European trips in late February 2026, the answer depends heavily on personal risk tolerance, flexibility and the specific routes involved. The current wave of disruption is serious, but it is also relatively targeted in time and geography. Germany’s Lufthansa strike was scheduled as a single-day event and is already moving into the recovery phase. France’s recent air traffic control action has concluded. The most significant risk ahead now lies with Italy’s planned nationwide aviation strike on 16 February and the broader pattern of occasional localized actions in Belgium, Greece and other states.
If your travel dates cluster around the Italian strike or rely heavily on domestic Italian flights that day, you may want to consider proactive adjustments. This could mean moving your journey by a day or two, converting a flight to a high-speed train where practical, or routing through a different hub outside Italy and Germany. For those with entirely discretionary leisure trips who cannot tolerate the possibility of extended delays, postponing by a couple of weeks until after the strike calendar becomes clearer may provide peace of mind.
On the other hand, Europe’s airlines and airports are increasingly experienced in managing strike-related disruption. Preemptive schedule cuts, generous rebooking policies and established customer service protocols mean that, in many cases, travelers do reach their destinations, albeit sometimes later than planned. If your itinerary is relatively simple, involves major carriers with robust support systems, and you can build in some buffer time at your destination, the risk of complete trip failure remains relatively low.
Ultimately, the key is to avoid complacency. This February is not a normal month for European travel. If you choose to proceed, plan with the assumption that schedules may change at short notice, that you may spend extra time in airports, and that flexibility and patience will be required. With thorough preparation, awareness of your rights and a willingness to adapt, it is still entirely possible to navigate Europe’s current aviation turbulence and salvage the trip you have been looking forward to.