A thousand flights to and from Italian airports were canceled today due to a strike by ground staff demanding the renewal of their collective agreement.

About 250,000 travelers, for domestic and international destinations, are affected by the mobilization of ground handling staff, which is scheduled from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. (local time) following an appeal by their union.

They are demanding the signing of a new collective agreement, which expired six years ago.

Around 200 flights were canceled at Fiumicino-Leonardo Da Vinci airport in Rome, mainly to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Barcelona or Palma de Mallorca, as well as Palermo or Catania in Sicily.

Particularly affected is the company Malta Air, which operates routes on behalf of Ryanair, Ita Airways (formerly Alitalia) and Vueling, whose pilots have decided to join the mobilization.

Almost 150 flights were canceled at Milan’s two airports, Linate and Malpensa, around thirty at Torino-Casele and as many at Palermo.

Transport Minister Matteo Salvini asked the strikers for “common sense” to prevail and not to prolong their mobilizations in order to “not harm millions of other workers and tourists”.

In Belgium, a total of 120 flights departing from or arriving at Charleroi airport are canceled today and tomorrow due to a strike by Ryanair pilots over their working conditions.

About 10,000 passengers due to fly out of Charleroi and almost as many due to land there will face problems this weekend because of the strike, airport management told AFP.

Belgium-based Ryanair pilots are criticizing the company for not wanting to honor a collective agreement that provides for days off in return for pay cuts imposed in 2020 amid the Covid-19 crisis.

The pilots’ unions accuse the Irish company of not respecting Belgian law and prospering from unfair competition with other companies.