A national general strike closes much of Italy on Friday 4 December 2026. The strike is called by CUB, SGB, SI COBAS and other base unions, and it is listed on the official strike calendar of the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. For anyone landing that day, the sharp edge is rail: the rail strike runs from 21:00 on Thursday 3 December to 21:00 on Friday 4 December.
One part is honestly unknown. The air sector hours for 4 December had not been stated when the calendar was read on 7 November 2026, so nobody can yet say exactly how flights will run. What can be planned today is the ground: which trains sit inside the window, and which rides still run on the road.
What is happening
The strike is a general strike across public and private sectors for the whole working day on Friday. The ministry calendar gives the sector windows: rail from 21:00 on Thursday to 21:00 on Friday, motorway staff from 22:00 on Thursday to 22:00 on Friday, and local transport hours set city by city.
Some trains still run. On weekdays Trenitalia guarantees regional trains in two bands, 06:00 to 09:00 and 18:00 to 21:00, and publishes a list of guaranteed long distance trains. Both Fiumicino trains are rail services, so plan Friday around the guaranteed bands and the road, and check live running before you leave for the station.
For flights, hold the plan loosely. The calendar entry records the air sector hours as not communicated, so this post does not promise a flight pattern for the day. Check your airline in the days before, and again on the morning of travel. December has more: ground handling action at both Rome airports follows on Monday 14 December, and a national taxi strike on Tuesday 15 December. Our November strikes post covers the earlier sequence.
Getting there after you land
Fiumicino sits about 30 km southwest of the center; Ciampino handles the budget airlines, closer in, with no train. On Friday 4 December the road options carry the day: the airport buses and the flat rate taxi are not rail services. Every option, priced and compared, sits in our Fiumicino to Rome transfer guide.
Bus (SIT, Terravision, Cotral)Cheapest
The cheapest seat into Rome, to Termini, and the slowest in traffic.
Taxi, flat rate
One flat price to anywhere inside the city walls, from the official white taxi rank outside arrivals.
Pre-booked transfer
A driver waits inside arrivals with a name sign, at a price fixed when you book.
Leonardo Express
Nonstop to Roma Termini and normally the fastest ride in, but a rail service inside the strike window on Friday.
FL1 regional train
For Trastevere, Ostiense and Tiburtina; it does not stop at Termini, and it sits inside the rail window too.
Four Leonardo Express fares total €56, a euro more than the flat taxi. On strike Friday the comparison is simpler: the bus and the taxi are the rides that run.
The full first hour: Rome guide
The ride in, the first ticket and the first meal, plus where to stay for your first nights in Rome.
Where to stay, and getting back
The guide names three first night picks. Splurge: Hotel de Russie, between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps, a storied luxury hotel built around a secret terraced garden. Sweet spot: Hotel Artemide, a polished four star a short walk from Termini and the Colosseum, with soundproofed rooms, a rooftop terrace and a small spa. Budget: The Beehive, a friendly, design conscious stay near Termini with dorms and private rooms and a garden cafe.
On strike Friday, a Termini base is practical: the airport bus ends there, and Artemide and The Beehive are a short walk from the station. The rail window ends at 21:00 on Friday, so Saturday trains run to the normal plan; protect a Friday departure with an early road ride.
The first hour, sorted
Get connected before you land: the guide names Airalo for an eSIM, online as the plane taxis in, with Saily as a good alternative, and a local SIM must be registered to your passport, so bring it. On a strike day that is how you check live train running before you commit to a platform.
Cards work in most places, including metro ticket machines. Keep €30 to €40 in cash for small bars, market stalls and the coperto cover charge when you sit down; standing at the bar is cheaper and more Roman. A BIT ticket is €1.50 for 100 minutes across metro, buses and trams. Validate every ticket on boarding. Tap water is safe, and the nasoni fountains pour it free.
Eat something Roman: carbonara and a suppli, the fried rice ball, at a lunch counter, then your first gelato. Book Colosseum and Vatican Museums tickets before you fly, because timed entry sells out days ahead.
Strike Friday is a road day in Rome, and it is planable today. Browse the events calendar for the rest of the December dates, and use plan your trip to line up the days around it.
Ostia Antica, Tivoli and Pompeii.
Get the Rome first hour checklist by email
The ride in, the first ticket and the first meal, in the Rome guide PDF you can read on the plane.
The checklist, free, from After You Land.
What else is on
The events calendar tracks every guided city, strikes and stoppages included.
Events calendarLine up the rest
Plan your trip pulls the guide, the stays and the bookings for this trip into one place.
Plan your trip