A clear track at the train station in Vicenza, Italy, in December 2024. Italian unions have called for a nationwide transit strike beginning June 19, 2025, in protest of the country’s military spending. (Rebecca Holland/Stars and Stripes)
NAPLES, Italy — U.S. service members and their families based in Italy may see their holiday travel plans disrupted this week as Italian unions prepare for a nationwide strike across transportation sectors to protest the country’s military spending.
The 24-hour strike starts at various times Thursday and Friday, and includes air and rail transportation, according to the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. Metros, buses, trams, highway toll stations, ports and ferries are among the services expected to be disrupted.
Thursday is the U.S. Juneteenth holiday and many service members are expected to be off Friday as well.
Travelers should expect delays and cancellations, airports and other transportation providers warned. But there are times, such as morning commute hours, when essential transportation services will be guaranteed.
Several grassroots unions called for the strike to protest defense spending. They want more investment in education, health and transportation. Increased wages for workers and reduced work hours also are on the list, according to the website Notizie.it.
“Let’s stop the wars, no to the war economy,” said a strike announcement posted June 13 to the Facebook page of the Confederazione Unitaria di Base in Rome. The flyer also denounces the killing of civilians in Gaza, salary reductions in favor of military spending and workplace deaths.
Train travelers will feel the largest impact, with the strike expected to begin at 9 p.m. Thursday and end at 9 p.m. on Friday, Notizie.it said. Reduced or minimal services will be available from 6 to 9 a.m. and 6 to 9 p.m.
Travelers should check with providers, such as Trenitalia, Italo and Frecciarossa, for confirmed trains.
At airports, baggage handlers, shuttle operators and ground handling staff will go on strike at midnight Friday through just before midnight Saturday, according to Italy’s civil aviation authority.
Travelers could experience flight delays and cancellations and are advised to check with airlines on the status of flights, Naples International Airport posted on its website.
Italian law stipulates that flights scheduled from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. are excluded from strikes. Some commuter and international flights also are excluded, the aviation authority said.
Disrupted services for metros, buses and other public transportation vary by city. For example, Rome public transportation services will be guaranteed on Friday until 8:29 a.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m., according to ATAC, the publicly owned company that runs most transportation services in Rome.
Travelers should check with local providers for information about impacts to cities such as Naples, Vicenza and Aviano, where many U.S. military members live.
On Tuesday, ANM, which is responsible for most transportation in the Naples area, said the strike would affect services from 3:01 p.m. Friday to 3 p.m. Saturday. Guaranteed bus, funicular and metro service times were available at anm.it.
The strike comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has challenged NATO countries to spend more for European defense, arguing that the United States has footed the lion’s share of the costs for too long.
In all, Italy was expected to spend nearly $31 billion, or about 1.54% of its gross domestic product, on defense in 2024. That’s short of the NATO benchmark of 2% of GDP, a mark Trump and other NATO leaders have said should rise to 5% of GDP to address global threats and deter adversaries.
