Italy’s decision to block key airport strikes during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics is reshaping travel expectations for anyone flying into the country this February and March. After weeks of tension between trade unions and the government, Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini has moved to halt 24-hour walkouts that would have coincided with peak Olympic and Paralympic traffic. For travelers, athletes and industry insiders, the move raises important questions about what is actually changing, how strikes are regulated in Italy and what practical steps visitors should take as they navigate one of Europe’s busiest winter sports seasons.
What the Italian Government Has Just Decided
The latest development centers on two nationwide air transport strikes originally called for 16 February and 7 March 2026. These 24-hour walkouts were set to involve pilots, cabin crew, air traffic personnel, airport workers and baggage handlers at major carriers including ITA Airways and leading low cost airlines. With tens of thousands of passengers forecast to pass through Milan Malpensa, Linate and Venice Marco Polo for the Games, authorities warned that the industrial action would severely disrupt Olympic operations.
Italy’s independent strikes watchdog, the Commissione di Garanzia, had already flagged those dates as critical because they overlapped directly with the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and the opening days of the Paralympic Games. In a formal opinion to the Transport Ministry, the commission recommended pushing the protests to a so called neutral period between 24 February and 4 March, after the Olympics and before the Paralympics. Trade unions rejected that request, insisting they would go ahead with the walkouts to press for better pay and overdue contract renewals.
In response, Salvini announced that the government will issue a precettazione, a legal injunction that allows ministers to suspend or modify strikes in essential public services where they are judged to threaten public safety or a major national interest. According to statements reported by Italian news agencies, the minister said it was unthinkable to block air traffic while the world’s attention is fixed on Milano Cortina 2026, calling union leaders irresponsible and accusing them of harming both citizens and athletes. The measure effectively blocks the planned airport strikes on 16 February and 7 March, with new dates expected to be set outside the Olympic competition window.
How Italy’s Strike Rules Work During Major Events
To understand why the government can intervene so directly, it is useful to look at the broader framework that regulates strikes in Italy. The right to strike is guaranteed under the Italian Constitution, but in sectors deemed essential, such as transport, health and education, there are detailed rules that balance workers’ rights with the public’s right to mobility and safety. The Commissione di Garanzia plays a central role in monitoring industrial action and issuing opinions on whether specific strikes comply with the law.
In air transport and rail, unions must give advance notice and respect minimum service guarantees during limited windows of the day. Italian law typically requires that basic connections be maintained in the early morning and early evening, so that commuters and essential travelers can still move. During a full day strike, flights and trains are heavily reduced outside those windows, but not completely suspended. That model has become familiar to Italian residents, who are used to building their travel plans around strike calendars and guaranteed time bands.
What changes during an event like the Milano Cortina 2026 Games is the threshold for what counts as acceptable disruption. With the Olympics designated an event of global importance, the government argues that freedom of movement for athletes, officials, media and spectators must be protected to a greater degree than usual. On that basis, ministers can invoke powers to postpone or ban industrial action altogether on days considered critical for the functioning and international image of the country. The current move to halt airport strikes is being justified precisely on those grounds.
What This Means in Practice for Olympic Travelers
For visitors flying to Italy during the Games, the immediate impact is positive: the two most disruptive airport strikes that were on the calendar during the Olympic and early Paralympic periods will not go ahead on their original dates. That means travelers arriving or departing on 16 February and 7 March should not face the mass cancellations and long queues that often accompany nationwide walkouts in Italy’s air sector. Airlines had been preparing contingency plans around those days, but the government’s intervention removes the most acute risk of system wide paralysis.
However, the situation does not mean a blanket end to industrial tension. Unions have been clear that their demands on pay and working conditions remain unresolved. The Commissione di Garanzia has suggested that any rescheduled strikes should fit into the 24 February to 4 March window, after the closing ceremony of the Olympics and before the opening of the Paralympics. Salvini has invited union leaders for talks and signaled a willingness to discuss new dates, though he has also warned that he is prepared to intervene again if protests are seen as jeopardizing key stages of the Games.
Travelers should therefore be prepared for possible industrial action later in the month or in early March, especially if negotiations stall. Any new strike dates are expected to be announced in advance, and airlines will be required to notify customers of cancellations or significant changes. Even when strikes are legally constrained, knock on effects such as crew shortages, aircraft rotations and airport congestion can ripple through the network for several days. The current government decision makes the Olympic fortnight more predictable, but it does not completely eliminate the underlying labor disputes.
The Winter Olympics Context: Security, Protests and Image
The move to block airport strikes comes against a wider backdrop of heightened security, political debate and public scrutiny surrounding Milano Cortina 2026. The Games, spread between the city of Milan and mountain venues in Lombardy and the Dolomites, are seen as a showcase for Italy’s capacity to host complex, multi-site events. To that end, parliament has already passed special legislation to support the organization of the Olympics, including funds for security, cyber protection and infrastructure upgrades, alongside the appointment of an extraordinary commissioner to coordinate preparations.
In recent weeks, the Games have also become a focal point for domestic tensions. Protests in Milan have brought together trade unions, environmental groups and social movements critical of the economic and ecological costs of Olympic projects. Demonstrators have highlighted issues such as precarious work, gentrification and the long term impact of new infrastructure in sensitive alpine areas. Some have also objected to the presence of U.S. Homeland Security agents working in liaison roles with Italian authorities during the event, arguing that this undermines national sovereignty, a charge the government rejects.
Within this charged atmosphere, the prospect of large scale airport shutdowns during the peak Olympic period carried not only logistical risks but also reputational ones. Officials have openly spoken about the need to avoid travel chaos being broadcast around the world while Italy is on global display. In that sense, the airport strike issue is being treated as part of a broader effort to project stability and control during the Games, even as critics warn that emergency style measures are edging into restrictions on legitimate protest and union action.
Understanding Italy’s Minimum Service Guarantees
Even when the government intervenes around specific dates, the underlying system of minimum service guarantees remains essential for travelers to understand. On most strike days in Italy, particularly in rail and public transport, services are organized around fasce di garanzia, or guaranteed time bands. For flights, aviation authorities typically ensure a core schedule of departures in the morning and evening, while trains focus on peak commuter periods. These guarantees apply not only to domestic routes, but also to key intercity and airport connections.
For travelers, this means that during a strike, booking tickets within those protected windows offers the best chance of actually traveling, even if timetables are reduced and trains or planes are full. Outside those hours, services can be cut drastically, leaving long gaps in connectivity. In the case of airports serving Milan and Venice, operators and rail companies also coordinate to maintain at least some links to city centers during strikes, although frequencies can fall sharply and delays are common.
During the Milano Cortina 2026 period, authorities have indicated that the minimum service framework will remain in force for any industrial action that does proceed. The government’s current intervention does not abolish strikes altogether, but shifts them away from crucial Olympic and Paralympic days. Should new strikes be called in late February or early March, visitors can expect a combination of restricted operations, protected windows and high demand for the limited services that do run. Checking schedules close to departure and allowing extra time for transfers will be especially important.
Practical Advice for Travelers Heading to the Games
From a traveler’s perspective, the headline is reassuring: the days most likely to have caused severe airport disruption during the heart of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are now being protected by direct government action. That said, the dynamics of industrial relations in Italy mean that flexibility and preparation remain vital for anyone planning to fly in or out of the country during February and March. Booking flights with some buffer before or after crucial competition dates can provide a margin of safety, especially for those with tickets to specific events or tight onward connections to the mountains.
Once booked, passengers should closely monitor communication from their airlines in the weeks and days leading up to travel. Carriers are obliged to inform customers if flights are cancelled or significantly rescheduled due to strikes, and they typically offer rebooking or refund options in line with European air passenger rights and Italian civil aviation rules. Keeping contact details up to date in airline profiles and enabling notifications on smartphones can help ensure that changes are not missed.
Travelers connecting between airports and host venues should also build in additional time. Even in the absence of a full strike, heavy Olympic traffic, heightened security checks and winter weather in northern Italy can all slow movement. In the Lombardy region, rail providers have in the past warned that regional trains feeding Milan’s airports and ski gateways are particularly vulnerable to disruption during national strikes. During the Games, demand on shuttle buses, car hire and private transfers is expected to be intense, making last minute alternatives harder to secure.
What to Watch for in the Coming Weeks
As the Games progress, several developments will be worth following for those with travel plans. The first is the outcome of the government’s talks with unions representing air transport workers. If the parties agree on new dates for industrial action in the late February window, travelers may see targeted disruptions, but with clearer advance notice and less overlap with Olympic competition. If negotiations break down and unions attempt to maintain strikes on sensitive days, a further legal showdown is possible, with courts or authorities called on to rule on the scope of emergency powers.
The second factor to watch is whether industrial unrest spreads to other parts of the transport network. Italy has seen coordinated strikes in rail, urban transport and motorways in recent years, with cascading effects on airports, station access and long distance routes. While no large scale multi sector action has been announced for the core Olympic period, the broader climate of social protest around Milano Cortina 2026 means that new calls for mobilization cannot be entirely ruled out.
Finally, the government’s approach to managing strikes during the Olympics is likely to feed into a wider political debate in Italy about civil liberties, labor rights and the use of security legislation around major events. For travelers, these discussions may feel distant, but they shape the environment in which transport decisions are made and can influence how quickly authorities are willing to restrict or postpone industrial action in the name of national interest. As Italy balances its constitutional protections for strikes with its desire to present a smooth Olympic experience, visitors will be observing the results in real time as they move through its airports, stations and mountain gateways.