A group of Alitalia pilot and cabin crew unions said they would strike June 24, delaying a planned walk out until after the latest deadline for a formal bid for the bankrupt carrier.

Defining a plan to rescue and relaunch Alitalia, which declared bankruptcy two years ago, has been fraught with complications. In the latest twist, the Italian government announced May 3 that railway company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) had until June 15 to present a plan for the relaunch, extending a previous April 30 deadline.

That was the latest delay to the process that has been slowed down by the Italian government’s wish to keep at least part of the airline in Italian hands. It wants to use a revamped “new” Alitalia as part of a multi-modal transport strategy that will boost the country’s tourism.

The FNTA—which brings together the ANPAC, ANPAV and ANP unions as well as the Confael Trasporti Assovolo association—said May 14 they had met to work out a common policy and a series of actions to support the relaunch of the new Alitalia.

They had been planning to stage a 24-hour strike May 21, but following the latest delay decided that striking on that day would be “untimely and inopportune” so they pushed back the planned action to June 24, after the latest deadline. Flight controllers belonging to the FAST CONFSAL union will also join in that strike, they said.

FS is set to lead the relaunch in which the Italian state and US carrier Delta Air Lines are also taking part but Italian deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio, who is also economic development minister, said April 30 that new offers from investors to join the relaunch plan were still coming in.

Transport minister Danilo Toninelli said May 10 that the government was working toward the new June 15 deadline and giving the “complicated” Alitalia dossier “the attention it deserves.”

Helen Massy-Beresford, [email protected]