The Italian government scrambled for a deal with airline workers today in a bid to save Alitalia from imminent collapse.
With Alitalia's operating licence in jeopardy and the likelihood that it will have to ground flights from tomorrow due to a lack of fuel, the airline's unions faced a stark choice between a rescue plan with job and salary cuts and pushing the carrier toward liquidation.
Unions have so far rejected an Italian consortium's offer to buy profitable parts of the airline and relaunch Alitalia as a slimmed down regional carrier. But with liquidation the only obvious alternative, they appealed for a compromise.
"We are trying to get a solution to this saga and there are still many obstacles, but the climate is different and there is the awareness that there is no alternative to the deal," said Giuseppe Caronia, head of the UILT union.
"I am moderately and cautiously optimistic."
At Rome's Fiumicino airport, several hundred Alitalia employees staged a 15-minute protest, temporarily blocking passengers' way to check-in desks of various airlines.
Once a symbol of Italy's post-war boom, Alitalia has for years suffered from political interference, labour disputes, financial woes and most recently from soaring fuel costs - which are weighing on airlines around the world.
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.
Italy's civil aviation authority said yesterday that Alitalia's operating licence was at risk after the airline confirmed media reports that it was having trouble buying jet fuel from wary suppliers.
Alitalia is operating under a bankruptcy commissioner who has said the only alternative to the rescue plan is liquidation, a procedure he has held back from starting while talks go on.
Letting Alitalia collapse would be a huge political blow for prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who promised voters he would use his business contacts to find an Italian buyer for the airline.