Alitalia strike creates havoc

Travelers sleep at Rome's Fiumicino Airport during a wildcat strike by some Alitalia pilots and cabin crew. The carrier canceled most flights, leaving ticket holders stranded. (Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images)

ROME - Travelers faced long lines, delays, and cancellations at Italian airports yesterday, a day after a wildcat strike by some Alitalia workers forced the carrier to scrap dozens of flights. Some disputes became so heated that police had to intervene.

Lines at Alitalia check-in counters at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport stretched for 200 feet as the terminal struggled with a backlog of hundreds of passengers who spent the night on the floor or in chairs after their flights were canceled due to Monday's strike.

Some angry travelers threatened ground personnel and police came in to calm them down.

Alitalia said a total of 124 flights were canceled among all its operations yesterday as a result of the wildcat strike a day earlier, as well as because of a work-to-the-rules job action, which pilots have been waging. The airline predicted some 50 flights would have to be scratched today.

Many of yesterday's cancellations came in Rome's main airport and at Milan's Linate airport.

Adding to the transport mayhem, Italy's civil aviation authority said Ciampino, Rome's second-largest airport and a low-cost hub, would remain closed until last evening as workers removed a Ryanair plane that made a hard emergency landing Monday after hitting a flock of birds.

Some 200 Alitalia flight attendants and pilots staged a surprise protest Monday, blocking the crew entrance at Leonardo da Vinci and preventing staff wanting to fly from entering the terminal.

Dozens of Alitalia flights were canceled across the country in Monday's chaos, although the carrier has not yet given an official count.

The protesters, who oppose a plan to salvage the bankrupt carrier by cutting routes and jobs, were ordered back to work Monday night by Italy's transport minister.