EasyJet flight attendents are due to walk out next week as part of industrial action, which could cause a ‘ripple-effect’ of disrupted air journeys according to an expert
EasyJet flight attendants are set to go on strike on Wednesday April 9, potentially leading to a ‘ripple-effect’ of disrupted air journeys across the UK and Europe.
Flight attendants belonging to Italian Federation of Transport Workers (FILT), the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) and the Italian Union of Transport (UIL) are set to strike for four hours, according to the Italian Ministry of Transport, on April 9. The strikes are expected to take place between 10.30am and 2.30pm Italian local time.
Experts are warning that the strike could prove costly for the budget airline as the UK and EU courts view strikes as preventable. As a result, easyJet may have to compensate passengers whose journeys are cancelled or delayed as a result of the industrial action.
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Anton Radchenko, an international lawyer and CEO of compensation experts AirAdvisor, explains: “Flight attendant strikes can be extremely damaging for an airline’s day-to-day operations. This is because flight attendants are a vital component in the service that commercial airlines provide, helping passengers to have a pleasant flight, but also ensuring safety equipment is working properly and demonstrating emergency procedures.”
Anton explained to the Mirror how strikes can lead to services being short-staffed or unable to take-off, ultimately causing flights to be cancelled. “This can create a ripple effect hitting other services that were relying on an aircraft and its crew being available for new flights in the intended destination,” he continued.
“Equally, when flights are delayed, they can miss their departure slot, which might cause other services from the same airport to depart later than planned. So flights from the UK to Italy and vice versa can very easily be impacted.”
According to Anton, trends suggest that staff strikes could be an “industry-wide nightmare for airlines in 2025” as pilots and crew continue to seek better pay and working conditions, across Europe.
“In February, easyJet pilots went on strike, while in late March, staff from Finland’s flagship airline, Finnair, walked out causing 70 flights to be cancelled in a single day,” he shared. “And airline staff strikes can prove to be extremely costly for airlines. This is because airlines may seek to draft in other staff to take the place of striking crew. But also due to the courts possibly viewing staff strikes as avoidable – and therefore passengers affected by disruption could be due compensation.”
Anton explained that under air passenger rights regulation, passengers are entitled to compensation of between £220 and £520, if their flight is delayed by more than three hours or cancelled completely, as a result of industrial action undertaken by airline staff.
“If your easyJet flight on April 9 is cancelled or delayed, we strongly suggest collecting any written evidence like SMS or emails stating strikes as the reason. You can use AirAdvisor’s free compensation calculator to figure out what you might be owed, before filing a claim,” he concluded.
An easyJet spokesperson said: EasyJet has been formally advised of a four hour air transport workers strike including some Italian-based cabin crew unions on Wednesday 9 April 2025, which is expected to impact some flights to and from Milan and Naples Airports. We would like to reassure customers that we are doing all possible to minimise any disruption as a result of the strike action and should any flights be impacted we will be contacting customers directly with their options to help rearrange their plans.”