ROME: Pilots and flight attendants at Italian airline Alitalia went on strike across the country on Friday, forcing the company to cancel flights at the start of one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year.
The Anpac union called the 24-hour stoppage to push management to give guarantees over staffing levels and harmonise pay levels following Gulf carrier Etihad Airways’ purchase of a 49 per cent stake in loss-making Alitalia last year.
The airline cancelled 15 per cent of Friday’s scheduled flights and accused unions of showing a “lack of respect” to passengers, with the strike coming just as Rome’s main Fiumicino airport struggles to return to full capacity after a fire in May.
The strike has dealt a fresh blow to Italy’s troubled transport system and follows weeks of chaos on the Rome metro, where drivers are staging wildcat strikes to protest at new requirements that they clock in and out of work.
