Alitalia's biggest unions clinched an initial deal with the airline's potential buyers today, raising hopes it could avoid collapse, but pilots balked and flights risked being grounded for a lack of cash to buy fuel.
Italy's four main unions - CGIL, CISL, UIL and UGL - and a consortium offering to buy Alitalia agreed to the rough outline of a rescue plan that would cut about 3,000 jobs but leave 12,500 workers at the slimmed-down airline. Thousands of others are in units that would be spun off.
Traffic at the main international airports in Rome and Milan was normal so far today, airport officials said, although the civil aviation authority said at the weekend Alitalia's operating licence was at risk after the airline confirmed it was having trouble buying jet fuel from wary suppliers.
Negotiations on tricky issues like salary cuts resumed in the late morning, with no guarantee of success.
Alitalia, now operating under a bankruptcy commissioner, risks becoming the first major European flag carrier to go bust since Swissair collapsed in 2001. Belgium's Sabena filed for bankruptcy in 2001.
Alitalia has for years suffered from political interference, labour disputes, financial woes and, most recently, from the soaring fuel costs which have weighed on airlines around the world.
The airline has not been in profit since 1999 and had nearly €1.2 billion of debt as of July.
Britain's third-largest package holiday operator, XL Leisure Group, grounded all flights on Friday after going into administration. Discount transatlantic carrier Zoom Airlines began bankruptcy proceedings last month.
