Italian flag carrier Alitalia scraps around half its flights on Tuesday

As pilots, cabin crew and ground staff call for a strike, Italian flag carrier Alitalia has scrapped around half its flights scheduled for Tuesday. The industrial action by employees of Alitalia, Blue Air and Blue Panorama was confirmed Monday over the future of the sector and specifically that of the troubled national carrier.

Alitalia has cancelled around half its flights on Tuesday, as well as some late Monday and early Wednesday. The company said it hoped to get 60 per cent of passengers to their destination. Unions lamented "on the one hand, a rising number of passengers and flights, and on the other a proliferation of bankruptcies", a statement said.

They are worried about Alitalia's future and want their jobs protected. The Italian government earlier this month extended to June 15 a deadline for the state railway to submit a concrete takeover offer, following a request from Alitalia's administrators for more time. Italy's state railway Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) floated a bid to buy Alitalia at the end of October, but it does not want to hold more than 30 percent in the airline. The railway has been discussing a potential partnership with Atlanta-based Delta airlines, which is interested in a 15-percent stake.

(With inputs from agencies.)