Italy: Strike hits "new" Alitalia on first day of operation

Alitalia was relaunched in a slimmed-down form under new ownership on 12 January 2009, but the day was marked by a four-hour strike called by trade unions in protest at the employment conditions at the remodelled airline.

Following an agreement reached in autumn 2008, Alitalia (which was formerly 49.9% state-owned) has been bought by a consortium of Italian investors, known as CAI.