Rome flights canceled by labor protest
Güncelleme Tarihi:
The Associated Press
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 10, 2009 00:00
ROME - More than 100 flights at Rome's main Leonardo da Vinci airport have been canceled by a ground workers protest against job cuts that are part of Alitalia's imminent relaunch.
The new, streamlined Alitalia starts operations next week. The new airline merges the profitable assets of the bankrupt national carrier with the much smaller Air One, and will include a foreign partner.
Airport officials said the protest by baggage handlers, check-in personnel and other ground staff had forced the cancelation of more than 100 outgoing and incoming flights Thursday.
Italian media reported that some 400 workers participated in the protest, reportedly upset that some of them have not been offered jobs by the new management.
The new Alitalia will employ 12,500 people - down from 20,000. Some 3,250 workers are being offered government guarantees of up to 80 percent pay for eight years; some of the others were on short-term contracts that are not being renewed.
Meanwhile, Air France-KLM emerged as the front-runner as Alitalia's foreign partner on Wednesday after Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Lufthansa, the other main contender, never made a firm offer.
Lufthansa spokeswoman Claudia Lange confirmed that the airline didn't make an offer per se, but was seeking cooperation within the Star Alliance. She also said Lufthansa's proposal hadn't been rejected, adding "This process isn't over."
Airport officials said the protest by baggage handlers, check-in personnel and other ground staff had forced the cancelation of more than 100 outgoing and incoming flights Thursday.
Italian media reported that some 400 workers participated in the protest, reportedly upset that some of them have not been offered jobs by the new management.
The new Alitalia will employ 12,500 people - down from 20,000. Some 3,250 workers are being offered government guarantees of up to 80 percent pay for eight years; some of the others were on short-term contracts that are not being renewed.
Meanwhile, Air France-KLM emerged as the front-runner as Alitalia's foreign partner on Wednesday after Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Lufthansa, the other main contender, never made a firm offer.
Lufthansa spokeswoman Claudia Lange confirmed that the airline didn't make an offer per se, but was seeking cooperation within the Star Alliance. She also said Lufthansa's proposal hadn't been rejected, adding "This process isn't over."