Unions to meet government for Alitalia rescue

ROME, (AFP) - A glimmer of hope was in the air for distressed Italian airline Alitalia early on Thursday when the government was to hold talks with trades unions.

The last-minute talks were scheduled as a cost-cutting deadline ran out in the latest stage of efforts to rescue the carrier.

Transport minister Altero Matteoli spoke on Wednesday of a "ray of hope" for Alitalia and an official statement said that unions at the airline had been called to a meeting scheduled for 0900 GMT on Thursday.

Opposition leader Walter Veltroni said on television on Wednesday that he was "optimistic" that the crisis shaking Alitalia could be resolved.

Alitalia, 49.9 percent state owned, is facing bankruptcy, haemorrhaging about three million euros a day, with a debt of about 1.2 billion euros (1.7 billion dollars).

The airline's special administrator, Augusto Fantozzi, was due on Thursday to present a cost-cutting plan to Italy's civil aviation authority, ENAC, that calls for a reduction in the number of flights.

The company has been looking for a buyer for months. Investors grouped in the CAI, the Italian Air Company, called off takeover talks on September 18 after six of the nine unions rejected their restructuring plan for the airline.