Sicilian Unions Hold Airport Sit-Ins Over Regional Emergency Fund

Filt Cgil, Fit Cisl and Uil Trasporti held a sit-in and assembly outside Comiso's "Pio La Torre" airport on 3 October 2026, part of a regional mobilisation that staged simultaneous protests at Sicily's four airports. The unions set out six demands: a regional airport emergency plan, a dedicated fund, more staff for organisation and security, tangible economic recognition, the right to mobility of Sicilian citizens, and the relaunch of tourism. Ragusa Oggi reported that dozens of workers attended in Comiso, describing the Ragusa airport as among those most heavily used after the closure of Fontanarossa, Catania's terminal.

According to the unions' account, they had already advanced a concrete proposal following disruption in recent months at Catania airport caused by eruptions of Etna: a preventive, structural fund for airport emergencies, holding resources that could be activated rapidly if a Sicilian airport closed or saw its operations sharply limited by exceptional events. That would be paired with a structured emergency plan linking the four airports quickly and providing in advance for staff, services, connections and support measures for the workers affected. The unions described these instruments as indispensable for protecting what they call a strategic sector for the island and those who keep it running.

The secretaries of Filt Cgil, Fit Cisl and Uil Trasporti — Filippo Scollo, Antonino Giannone and Antonio Oranges — said the demands had gone unheard. Workers, alongside users, had paid the highest price, they said, left without adequate support and facing gruelling work rhythms that, if prolonged, could put at risk the safety conditions of the airport itself. "If these phenomena recur periodically," they said, "we can no longer treat everything as a momentary emergency." They called for planning and attention towards those handling extraordinary situations while guaranteeing their own safety and, above all, that of travellers, arguing that this part of Sicily "can no longer afford postponements or the absence of adequate emergency plans".

The context set out in the reports is the strain placed on Sicily's secondary airports by problems at Catania, which the accounts attribute to Etna activity. Ragusa Oggi frames the matter as Comiso being called on to rescue Catania, with the question of who helps the airport's own workers left open. The unions also tie the file to the right to mobility of Sicilian citizens and to tourism development in the territory.

The reports give no indication of a response from regional authorities, nor of any further action or timetable from the unions.