Travelling to Italy this November: strikes, Naples airport and what to do

Heading to Italy this month? Naples airport is closed until December and there are strikes on several dates. Here's how to keep your trip running smoothly.

None of this is a reason to cancel. Most of it can be managed with a little forward planning, and some of it may not touch your trip at all. This is what I would want to know if I were travelling.

Naples airport is closed for November: what it means for Amalfi, Sorrento and Capri

Naples Capodichino closed on Sunday 1 November for runway works and is due to stay shut until 30 November. The works are planned to take 24 days, with six more days held in reserve for rain, so it could reopen slightly early. I would not plan around that.

If you are heading to the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento or Capri, this is the change that matters most. It also affects anyone who flew out in October with a return flight on or after 1 November.

Your main options:

• Fly to Rome and take the train. High-speed trains from Roma Termini reach Naples in around 70 minutes. From Naples you can continue by private transfer, ferry or train. For most UK travellers this is the simplest route this month.
• Salerno airport (Costa d'Amalfi e del Cilento). About 60 km from Naples, Salerno is handling some of the diverted flights. Its November routes are mainly to Milan and other European cities rather than the UK, so for most of us it would mean a connection.
• The shuttle bus. A special service runs eight times a day in each direction between Piazza Garibaldi (outside Napoli Centrale station) and Salerno airport, at €12 per journey, paid electronically on board.

One detail that is easy to miss: if your hotel transfer was booked to collect you from Naples airport, it will need changing too.

The strike dates to know, and the protected flight windows

Italy has several strikes planned this month. These are the ones most relevant to travellers:

• Friday 6 November: a 24-hour strike by easyJet cabin crew in Italy (00:00 to 23:59), plus a four-hour air traffic control strike at Bari airport (13:00 to 17:00).
• Monday 9 November: a strike by Italo train staff, 09:01 to 16:59.
• Friday 20 November: a CGIL general strike across all public and private sectors for the whole working day. A separate rail strike then runs from 21:00 on Friday to 20:00 on Saturday 21 November.
• Saturday 21 November: a nationwide air traffic control strike, 13:00 to 17:00.
• Sunday 22 November: a 24-hour air traffic control strike at Milan Malpensa, and a 24-hour security staff strike at Venice Marco Polo.

The protected windows. Under Italian rules, flights scheduled between 07:00 and 10:00 and between 18:00 and 21:00 are guaranteed during air transport strikes. If you are booking a flight on a strike day, a morning or evening departure inside those windows is the safer choice. For regional trains on weekdays, the guaranteed windows are 06:00 to 09:00 and 18:00 to 21:00.

Italian strikes are often scaled back or called off at short notice, so this list can change. The Italian government's official strike calendar (scioperi.mit.gov.it) and the FCDO's travel advice for Italy (gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy) are the places to check before you travel.

Your rights if a flight is cancelled or delayed

Flights departing from the UK are covered by UK passenger rights rules (UK261). Flights departing from Italy, on any airline, are covered by the EU equivalent (EU261). In broad terms:

• If your flight is cancelled, you can choose between a refund and an alternative flight at the earliest opportunity.
• If you are delayed for a long time, the airline must provide care: meals and refreshments, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight.
• Compensation depends on the cause. Air traffic control strikes and airport closures are generally treated as extraordinary circumstances, so cash compensation is not usually payable. The Naples cancellations were also announced more than 14 days in advance, which normally rules compensation out. A strike by an airline's own staff is different: courts have generally found these are not extraordinary, so compensation may be due.

Keep your boarding passes, receipts and any messages from the airline. Each case turns on its own facts, so check directly with your airline if you are affected.

It is also worth checking your travel insurance. Strike cover usually only applies if the policy was bought before the strike was announced.

Why a package booked through an agent is easier to fix

After 20+ years with British Airways, I have seen plenty of strike days from the inside. The trips that recover quickest are the ones where somebody has the whole picture.

When flights and a hotel are booked together as a package with an ATOL-protected tour operator, you receive an ATOL certificate, and the tour operator is responsible for the holiday as a whole. If a flight changes, the alternatives are arranged as part of the same booking.

When you book through me, I deal with the rebooking for you. Flights, transfers and hotel arrival times are looked at together, so you are not on hold to an airline while also trying to reach a transfer company and a hotel reception.

If you have booked flights and a hotel separately, each one has to be sorted with each supplier, and a change to one does not automatically adjust the others. That is when a small change can turn into a lot of phone calls.

Looking ahead: booking the Amalfi Coast for spring 2027

Naples airport is due to reopen in December with a resurfaced runway, which makes this a good moment to think about spring.

April and May are, in my view, among the nicest times to visit the Amalfi Coast. It is warm enough for long lunches on a terrace, the paths are walkable, and it is calmer than the summer months. Many of the coastal hotels reopen for the season in spring.

Where to base yourself depends on what you want from the trip:

• Sorrento for easy connections, a lively town and ferries to Capri and along the coast.
• Positano for the classic view and a beautiful setting, accepting that it is steep and busy.
• Ravello for somewhere quieter and more elegant, high above the sea.

The detail that matters here is the room. On this coastline, a sea-view room can change the whole feel of a stay, and in some hotels it is well worth the upgrade. In others the standard room is perfectly good and the money is better spent elsewhere. That is exactly the kind of thing I compare for clients.

Got an Italy trip coming up?

Message me and I'll check what, if anything, needs changing. And if you are thinking about the Amalfi Coast next spring, send me your dates, departure airport and budget and I will start looking.

• Email: anna@signatureescapes.co
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Strike dates and airport schedules can change at short notice. Please check with your airline and the official sources above before you travel.