Non-stop talks to save Alitalia

In a bid to save Alitalia, the Italian government yesterday said it would hold three-way non-stop talks with unions and management following strikes which forced the airline to cancel more than 600 flights. Government ministers made the offer to unions...

In a bid to save Alitalia, the Italian government yesterday said it would hold three-way non-stop talks with unions and management following strikes which forced the airline to cancel more than 600 flights.

Government ministers made the offer to unions during crisis talks at the end of one of the darkest days for air travel in Italy, already being called "black Thursday".

In return, unions agreed to stop striking against the flag carrier, pending developments, a joint statement by unions and the government said.

The statement said the objective of the talks, due to start on Monday, would be to "create the conditions for the recovery and relaunch" of the flag carrier.

Yesterday's stoppage, meant to put pressure on the government to intervene and save the state-controlled airline from bankruptcy, followed a wildcat walkout on Wednesday and left thousands of passengers stranded around the world.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.