Those who are planning on travelling to or within Europe during the Christmas period should expect to encounter some delays and even cancellations, as strikes are planned in Italy, the United Kingdom, and Spain.
Because the Christmas holidays are traditionally one of the busiest and most popular travel times of the year, strikes during the holiday season are not a rare sight. By targeting those moments in particular, strikers intend for their demands regarding higher pay and better working conditions to be heard more clearly.
In 2025, air travel during the holiday season promises to be challenging, especially for those travelling to or from Italy, the United Kingdom, and Spain. We made an overview of the upcoming actions to be aware of.
Italy (17 December 2025)
On Wednesday, 17 December 2025, a coordinated strike action involving ground handling staff, airline crew, and air traffic controllers is scheduled to take place in Italy. From 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, ENAV air traffic control staff at Rome airport, Assohandlers ground services staff (working for Ryanair, Wizz Air, and easyJet amongst others), Italy’s national carrier ITA Airways staff, Vueling staff, and ground staff for Air France and KLM companies will be taking part in a walk-out.
While the strike should only last for four hours, delays and cancellations, as well as long queues at airports, are expected to last all day and could even have consequences afterwards. Travellers are urged to contact their carrier and have been provided with a list of guaranteed flights by Italy’s civil aviation authority.
Dec 17th 2025 – National air transport strike from 1pm to 5pm. Maybe some delays or cancellations affecting flights. Please contact the airline to check your flight before going to the airport. Info on IT version only : https://t.co/53Tq34DFls
— Milan Airports (@MiAirports) December 17, 2025
United Kingdom (19-22 December and 26-29 December)
Two airports in the United Kingdom are scheduled to be hit by travel chaos during the festive period.
At London’s Luton Airport, easyJet ground staff will be taking part in a walkout twice: from 19 to 22 and from 26 to 29 December 2025. Check-ins and baggage handling are likely to take longer than usual on those days, and travellers might do better to rely on hand luggage. Some 400 flights could be impacted overall.
At London Heathrow Airport, disruptions are likely to hit travellers on 22, 23, 24, and 26 December 2025. As Scandinavian Airlines Services (SAS) cabin crew will go on strike, SAS flights to destinations such as Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo are likely to be impacted. According to the union Unite, staff are protesting against poor pay, forcing them to rely on food banks when travelling to expensive Scandinavian destinations.
“This is real Grinch-style behaviour from SAS – it is taking advantage of the goodwill of its staff and will now be responsible for cancelled Christmas flights”, Unite regional officer Callum Rochford stated.
Spain (Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until 31 December)
Staff at Azul Handling, Ryanair’s Spanish ground handling partner, have been organising walkouts since 15 August 2025, as they are asking for better working conditions, bonuses, and job stability. Those strikes are set to continue throughout December and will take place on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 5:00 to 9:00 am, from noon to 3:00 pm, and from 9:00 pm to midnight.
At the airports of Alicante, Barcelona-El Prat, Girona, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Madrid-Barajas, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Tenerife South, and Valencia, travellers should thus brace themselves for potential delays during check-in and luggage collection. Ryanair is, however, expecting to be able to maintain its flight schedules.
