Tomorrow the last flight, the bitterness of the workers: "Defeat by country, hello mom Alitalia"

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October 13, 2021 Bitterness and anger. These are the feelings that are breathed among the workers of Alitalia on the eve of the last day of operation of the company. "It is a defeat for Italy, a page of pride for our country closes for the world with our logo that represented us as Italians - say two workers for over 20 years in service in the company - Personally we are embittered but above all because a

unique

know-how is lost

and the sector will be swallowed up by low cost. It is also the risk for Ita ".

Tomorrow evening, with the last flight, Cagliari - Rome, the "sad" epilogue of a history spanning over 74 years. The curtain will fall on the old Alitalia which will leave the field to the new Ita. "I am disheartened by what has happened - is the testimony of a maintenance worker - After 34 years of service in the Company I did not expect such an end. I am out of Ita, I have not been hired. It is a bad situation. The Alitalia flag. he went all over the world, appreciated by everyone. Not only Italians flew with Alitalia but also international travelers who have always shown appreciation for our reliability, competence. It is a desolation to see this epilogue. I always came to work with a smile, with the passion for this job and with the curiosity to learn more and more.Now we can only hope for a second step when the new company, hopefully, will have the opportunity to increase the fleet but the conditions, given the industrial plan, are not encouraging and the market risks being in the hands of low cost companies ".

"At this moment, more than resignation, a feeling of anger prevails - is the testimony of two hostesses - we have the feeling of having suffered abuse, and the signature is also of the State, because once again it is the workers who pay for faults that are not ours. And communication did not help us, because we passed, wrongly, as privileged and it is not fair, considering the sacrifices always made. We cannot consider Ita as a start-up due to the working conditions that are present. We hope now that there will still be a serious dialogue between the trade unions, Ita and the Government ". 

"I don't sleep - says another worker - I think of all my colleagues and the consequences. Because someone or something bigger than me has decided to kill her. I have forgiven her as many times as you do for someone you really love, but someone He has never looked at her in the eyes and in her heart, because if she had done so it would not have been so cruel. Hello Mamma Alitalia ", concludes

the USB mobilization for Alitalia workers continues. Today, Wednesday 13 and tomorrow, Thursday 14 October, there will be meetings open to all staff, Thursday 14 and Friday 15 permanent garrison at the airport.

In the week in which Ita arrives in Fiumicino, explains Usb in a press release, Fiumicino airport must "become the center of attention for all those who work or have worked for Alitalia" and for all those who care about compliance with the laws that " they do not accept redundancies in the third European market, they do not tolerate any kind of discrimination, they defend the national contract and think that a public company cannot offer wages and contracts below the level of Ryanair ". 

The residual part of the salary for the month of September, not yet paid, equal to 50%

will be paid tomorrow to the workers of Alitalia and Cityliner. To report it are union sources.

On May 5, 1947, Alitalia-Aereolinee Italiane Internazionali made the first national flight Turin-Rome-Catania with a Fiat G-12 E plane. Two months later, the first international flight from Rome to Oslo with a Savoia Marchetti SM95 plane and 38 passengers took off. on board. In 1950 the first Alitalia hostesses entered service with the uniforms designed by the Fontana sisters, while the four-engined DC4 entered the fleet and hot meals were introduced that led the company to become one of the preferred carriers for international customers.

In 1957 Alitalia merged with LAI and became Alitalia-Italian Airlines with 3,000 employees and a fleet of 37 aircraft. In the international ranking of airlines, Alitalia passes from twentieth to twelfth place. 1960 is the year of the Rome Olympics and Alitalia is the official company, the first jets enter the fleet and for the first time the carrier carries over one million passengers. The Leonardo da Vinci airport in Fiumicino is inaugurated.

Between 1969 and 1970, Alitalia presented a new logo and renewed the livery of the aircraft: the "Freccia Alata" was replaced by the tricolor "A". The Jumbo Boeing 747 enters the fleet and Alitalia becomes the first European airline to fly with an "all jet" fleet. The airplanes with the unmistakable livery with the national colors are the backdrop to numerous films that tell the changes in Italian society, such as that of Luigi Zampa, with Alberto Sordi and Claudia Cardinale entitled "Bello, honest, emigrant Australia would marry an illibated fellow villager".

In the 1980s, the fleet was also renewed with the arrival of the Airbus A300, large-capacity twin-jets, and the new MD80s. For long-haul flights, the B747 Combi enters the fleet, allowing greater flexibility in the transport of passengers and goods.

At the beginning of the 90s the new MD11 arrived, three-jets with a wide flight autonomy: over 12,000 kilometers. Giorgio Armani designs the new uniforms and collaborates on the interiors of the new planes. The MilleMiglia program dedicated to frequent flyers is born. In those years the first problems also arrived for the company that began a negotiation with AirFrance, but interrupted shortly after. In 1996 the government started the first partial privatization, placing 37% of the company on the market, Maggior fortuna seem to have talks with KLM which ended with a sensational break by the Dutch carrier on 28 April 2000.

With the new millennium Alitalia joins the SkyTeam international alliance together with Air France, Delta Air Lines, Korean Air, Aeromexico and CSA Czech Airlines. In the long haul, the new Boeing 777 replaces the Jumbo B747. In 2006, the company acquired Volare Airlines while the Italian government strengthened its attempts at privatization, leading to an exclusive negotiation with AirFrance, which in the meantime had merged with KLM. These talks also fail due to the opposition of the trade unions to the project which envisages 2,100 redundancies and a recapitalization of about one billion. Meanwhile, Silvio Berlusconi, who has returned to the leadership of the country, brings together a group of entrepreneurs defined as "brave captains" who take over the company.

Alitalia Cai was born at the beginning of 2009, with a capital of 1.1 billion and president Roberto Colaninno. AirOne also enters the new company, with partners such as Intesa Sanpaolo, the true architect of the operation with the "Piano Fenice" and AirFranceKlm. Alitalia-Cai, also equipped with new aircraft such as the Airbus A330 and Airbus A320, however, fails to really take off, focusing its business plan on the Rome-Linate route: a choice that proves to be a loser due to the strong competition of the train that in those years becomes overwhelming thanks to Akta speed. In five years, therefore, Alitalia returns to find itself in difficulty with AirFranceKlm which slips away by not participating in a capital increase necessary for the survival of the carrier.

In 2014, at the end of a long negotiation, the Emirati company Etihad Airways announced its entry into Alitalia-Cai, with 49%. The remaining 51% remains in Italian hands so as not to make Alitalia lose its status as a European company and for this reason the Post Office also enters the capital with 75 million euros. The operation is officially completed on January 1, 2015. With the new year comes a new name: Alitalia-Sai, with president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo.

The new company is also short-lived, after two years a new capital increase is necessary, with a new industrial plan that requires heavy sacrifices from the workers and for this reason its effectiveness is subordinated to their approval. In a referendum, however, the employees rejected it and on May 2, 2017 the shareholders of the company asked for admission to the extraordinary administration.

The management then passes to the State with the Government which arranges a bridging loan of 900 million and appoints three extraordinary commissioners, Luigi Gubitosi, Enrico Laghi and Stefano Paleari who prepare a call for tenders for the sale of the company but which leads to nothing.

In 2020, the "Cura Italia" decree provides for the creation of a new company wholly owned by the state.

The new airline, which has Alfredo Altavilla as president and Fabio Lazzerini as CEO, starts with 52 aircraft for 45 destinations and 2,800 employees.

The first scheduled flight is Linate-Bari at 6:20 am on October 15th.