Hundreds of travellers were kept waiting for their luggage at Rome’s Fiumicino airport as a strike by Alitalia baggage handlers over jobs cuts as part of a merger with Etihad Airways entered its second day.
Bags were left abandoned on luggage carts on Tuesday as handling staff reduced their working time at the airport, causing havoc for passengers, Il Messaggero reported.
The strike continued as Etihad chief executive James Hogan arrived in the Italian capital with the aim of clinching a deal that could see it buy almost half of the troubled airline, a move that will mean more than 2,000 job losses.
Redundancies are a hurdle in the deal with Etihad, which is expected to invest an estimated €560 million for a 49% stake in the loss-making airline.
The Abu Dhabi carrier is asking for 2,171 jobs to be cut.
There was a partial agreement in talks last month on laying off 1,635 workers – with some being moved to other companies in the aviation sector and others receiving redundancy packages.
Most unions have agreed, with the exception of Italy’s biggest union, the CGIL, and the far-left USB union, according to local reports.