Thousands of passengers to be impacted by one-day easyJet pilot strike in October half-term

Thousands of passengers across Europe are expected to experience disruptions to flights in late October as Italian pilots are planning a four-hour walkout. Pilots from the budget airline easyJet are set to go on strike on 27 October for four hours between 1pm and 5pm, and while the window is a short one, aviation experts say that this could have a knock-on effect on the rest of the flight timetable that weekend. The strike, organised by the Italian transport union UIL Trasporti who are representing the pilots, will affect flights coming in and out of three Italian cities, Milan, Naples and Venice. Anton Radchenko, aviation expert and founder of AirAdvisor, has warned that easyJet passengers should be prepared for flight disruptions on the Sunday before the October half-term starts for UK schoolchildren. “EasyJet is the UK’s biggest airline, especially in terms of passenger volume, so thousands of passengers across Europe will directly be impacted by these pilot strikes on 27th October," he told the Mirror. “Our message is: be prepared for disruption and understand your rights as a passenger,” he added to the Daily Express. EasyJet passengers have already been severely affected by strikes this year after 232 of 1,138 flights to and from Portugal were cancelled by the airline in August due to a three-day strike by its cabin crew in the country, causing chaos for holidaymakers travelling to its popular tourist destinations.<br/>