A train strike across Italy left commuters and tourists stranded on Thursday amid the peak season in summer.
The industrial action led to cancellations that affected even high-speed lines that are usually guaranteed during the country’s frequent work stoppages, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Transport Minister of Italy, Matteo Salvini, signed a decree calling on for the two-day strike to be cut in half; however, even the shortened stoppage led to the cancellation of service on a weekday, according to a report from ABC News.
The same notes that eight of 20 scheduled Trenitalia trains scheduled were cancelled at Milan’s central rail station.
Trenitalia’s authorities warned of the significant impact on service that would cause the partial or total cancellation of service on the high-speed Frecce lines and regional trains and also cause delays after the official termination of the strike.
Main unions of Italy called for the strike of Trenitalia and Italo workers, complaining about excessive overtime and staffing shortages, as well as minimum salaries and other work conditions.
“In general, there’s a need to restart a serious and constructive confrontation within the rail transport sector to concretely improve work conditions and make them responsive to the needs of all the personnel,” the statement from the UIL union noted.
Italian Transport Minister, through a video statement last week, said that he had just signed a decree cutting the strike in half, noting that he took such measures “because leaving a million Italians — commuters and workers — stranded on a Thursday in July with temperatures of up to 35 degrees was unthinkable.”
In addition to rail strikes, a strike from an air traffic controller and baggage handler was also warned for this weekend.
According to the travel market report, cancellations were set to start on July 15, with Malpensa International in Milan, as well as Naples International, Leonardo da Vinci International in Rome, and Marco Polo International in Venice already being subject to cancellations.
On Friday last week, Ryanair announced that cancellations and disruptions of flights are expected on July 15 while stressing that affected customers would be informed through email or push notifications.
“We sincerely apologise to our customer for any inconvenience caused due to the Italian Air Traffic Control strike and Local airport providers (external ground handling) strike, which is beyond our control,” it noted.
At the same time, ITA Airways already cancelled a total of 133 domestic and international flights that were scheduled for July 15, stressing that it would rebook passengers on the first available flight and that a total of 40 per cent of the affected travellers would be eligible to fly on the same day as the strike.