Relaunched Alitalia hit by strike

Less than a week after the Italian carrier was re-launched, a strike at Alitalia has forced the cancellation of nearly two dozen flights.

Beginning at 9:00am local time on Monday, the Italian airline was required to cancel flights due to a walkout by employees. The four-hour action saw 22 flights cancelled, according to Alitalia officials.

The labour action was a protest against the new contracts and hiring policies put in place at the airline.

Alitalia was recently taken over by a consortium of Italian investors that formed an alliance with Air France-KLM.

Unofficial strikes at airports in Rome and Milan tarnished the new carrier’s launch last Tuesday, resulting in the delay of some flights and the cancellation of others. Monday’s action, however, was the first official walkout since the re-launch.

The SDL union, representing the Alitalia employees, noted that it may call for a 24-hour strike at a future, unspecified date.

The newly-launched airline is working to more modest targets, with its fleet of 148 aircraft operating 670 daily flights to 70 domestic and international destinations.

Alitalia is also operating with a slimmed-down workforce, now having about 12,500 employees, compared with 23,500 before the re-launch.

www.alitalia.com