Many flights canceled as airport personnel go on strike in Italy

By Giovanni Legorano

ROME (AA) - A national strike of airport personnel led to the cancellation of many flights in Italy on Friday, airlines and airport authorities said.

At Milan’s Malpensa airport, 60 flights were canceled, while at Linate, the other airport of the northern city, 20 flights were canceled, the airports said. In Venice, another 20 flights appeared to be cancelled.

Twelve flights at Catania airport have been canceled, while another eight have been delayed.

National carrier ITA Airways said it canceled 30 national flights scheduled for Friday, 11 of which were from Rome’s Fiumicino airport.

It said it is rescheduling passengers on other flights and as a result, 55% of passengers due to fly on Friday will be able to do so.

Union CUB Trasporti, which organized the strike, said they are demanding higher salary increases and complained that working hours have been increased without a corresponding rise in pay.