October 2026 brings several aviation labour disputes, but their status now varies sharply across Europe and beyond. The easyJet France notice for 1 and 2 October has been withdrawn and the Portugal strike period has ended. Attention now shifts to Brussels Airport on 9 October, Air Corsica from 9 to 16 October, Italy and Leeds Bradford around 16 October, and the nationwide French flight-crew notice scheduled for 17 to 21 October.
Updated on 7 October 2026 with the Brussels Airport disruption and the Leeds Bradford industrial-action notice.
Key dates in October 2026
1 and 2 October: easyJet France notice withdrawn. SNPL France ALPA withdrew the strike notice after negotiations produced a proposed agreement. Travelers should no longer treat those dates as an active easyJet France strike warning.
2 to 6 October: easyJet Portugal. The dispute involves Portugal-based cabin crew at Lisbon, Porto and Faro. easyJet says it originally scheduled 786 flights during the strike period, reduced that programme to 442 flights after pre-emptive cancellations and now expects to operate 428. SNPVAC gives a different breakdown: 343 pre-emptive cancellations before the strike, followed by 26 additional cancellations since 2 October, for a union total of 369 cancellations as of 5 October. These figures describe different parts of the operation and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Portugal’s DGERT has imposed minimum-service requirements on selected routes, while easyJet is also using aircraft and crews from other European bases. SNPVAC disputes some of those practices and says it has referred the matter to the labour inspectorate. easyJet says its operation complies with applicable rules. A second cabin-crew strike is scheduled for 19 to 23 December 2026. See AeroSillage’s detailed Portugal strike briefing.
From 2 October: Jetstar airport staff action in Australia. Protected industrial action involving Jetstar airport employees has escalated at major airports including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Cairns. Jetstar says contingency arrangements are in place and it does not expect broad flight disruption at this stage.
9 October: Brussels Airport. A nationwide union action in Belgium is expected to affect part of the workforce at ground handler Alyzia. Brussels Airport says roughly half of the flights handled by Alyzia should operate as planned, while a substantial number will be cancelled. Current reporting points to around 140 cancellations, including several Brussels Airlines services. Airlines are contacting affected passengers directly, while flights handled by Aviapartner are not expected to see the same level of disruption.
9 to 16 October: Air Corsica pilots. SNPL and SPAC filed a strike notice covering Air Corsica pilots from 9 to 16 October after unsuccessful negotiations. No general cancellation list has been confirmed. AeroSillage is following the dispute in its dedicated Air Corsica article.
Italy: four aviation-sector actions on 16 October
Italy’s official strike register lists four actions for 16 October: a 24-hour nationwide action by easyJet Airlines Limited flight crew called by USB Lavoro Privato ; a 24-hour action involving Toscana Aeroporti, GH Toscana and Consulta staff at Pisa and Florence ; a 24-hour action involving Sicuritalia IVRI staff at Venice Marco Polo ; and a nationwide 24-hour strike by Poste Air Cargo technical flight crew.
Italian aviation rules protect the 07:00 to 10:00 and 18:00 to 21:00 time bands. As of 6 October, no specific ENAC guaranteed-flight list has been identified for these actions. AeroSillage is tracking the situation in its Italy 16 October strike briefing.
16 to 18 October: Leeds Bradford Airport. Around 130 Unite members, including air traffic controllers, security staff, customer-service employees and cleaners, are due to strike. Unite says the walkout could effectively shut the airport, while Leeds Bradford Airport says it currently expects near-normal operations and is working to minimise passenger disruption. No general cancellation programme has been confirmed, so passengers should monitor their individual booking closely.
17 to 21 October: nationwide French airline crew notice. SNPL, UNSA PNC, SNPNC, SNGAF and UNAC have called on flight crew employed under French labour law to stop work from 00:01 on 17 October until 23:59 on 21 October. The dispute concerns changes to rules on combining employment and retirement income and the CRPN aviation pension fund. As of 7 October, the strike notice remains in place. Unions say the notice has moved talks forward and that additional safeguards are now being discussed, but they continue to demand a full exclusion of flight crew from the new scheme. No system-wide cancellation list has been confirmed.
What travelers should take from the calendar
Charleroi should no longer be treated as an active October strike warning because the skeyes action was suspended in late September. Portugal is now a closed episode whose disruption can be measured, while Air Corsica, Italy and the nationwide French notice remain developing cases whose real impact will depend on the schedules actually published by airlines and authorities.
A strike notice does not mean an airport is closed. Flights can be protected, retimed, delayed or cancelled. The status of the individual booking remains the most useful information for passengers.
As of 7 October: the easyJet France notice has been withdrawn and the Portugal strike period is over. Brussels Airport expects cancellations on 9 October, Air Corsica remains under notice from 9 to 16 October, Italy has several aviation actions on 16 October, Leeds Bradford faces action from 16 to 18 October, and the nationwide French flight-crew notice for 17 to 21 October remains in place. Passengers should treat their airline’s live booking status as the decisive reference.
Main sources
SNPL / SPAC: Air Corsica strike notice, 9–16 October
SNPNC: nationwide French flight-crew notice, 17–21 October
DGERT: minimum services for easyJet Portugal
Brussels Airport: 9 October disruption notice
Leeds Bradford Airport: 16–18 October industrial action
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