Alitalia's final weeks flying marked by protests, apologies

Italy’s failing national airline Alitalia is telling passengers to just bring a single piece of hand luggage when travelling

ROME -- Italy’s failing national airline Alitalia told passengers on Tuesday to just bring a single piece of hand luggage when travelling, given the intensifying strikes and labor protests that are disrupting services ahead of the airline’s planned Oct. 14 demise.

In a series of tweets, Alitalia apologized to its customers and blamed the disruptions on union meetings that “over the coming days could result in delays in the services provided by Alitalia.” A single piece of hand luggage would ensure more timely luggage deliveries at destinations, Alitalia said.

Alitalia, which has been in the red for more than a decade, is due to formally exit the airline market next month and be replaced by a new national carrier ITA, or Italy Air Transport. The European Commission has given the go-ahead to a 1.35 billion euro ($1.58 billion) injection of government funding into the new airline, but ITA is only planning to hire around a quarter of the estimated 10,000 Alitalia employees.

Those employees have been protesting for weeks. A national strike is planned for Friday to demand better treatment and respecting previous contracts. On Tuesday, employees staged a new demonstration in Rome after unions and the ITA board failed again Monday to reach a deal.