Alitalia on Monday cancelled 30 flights, including six to international destinations, due to its first strike since its launch under private ownership less than a week ago, Telenews agency reported.
A four-hour strike between 0900 and 1300 GMT was called by the union to protest against recent reforms and job cuts, saying it was concerned about the Italian flag carrier’s future. Alitalia cancelled some 30 flights to Algiers, Moscow, Paris, Cairo, Malta and Istanbul, said a number of flights had suffered delays, without specifying how many. It has threatened another 24-hour strike at an unspecified date.
Alitalia flew off under its first day of private ownership last Tuesday, after it was taken over by a group of prominent Italian business leaders and under an alliance with Air France-KLM, which has a 25 percent stake.
Its fleet of 148 planes will fly 670 routes a day, down more than a third from the 1,050 routes flown by Alitalia and Air One each day a year ago.
