Italian national carrier Alitalia was hit by a 24-hour strike on Thursday, grounding 170 flights of which 74 were international.

The strike, which began at midnight, was the first at Alitalia by leading trade unions since Jan. 19.

Trade unions apologized to passengers but issued a statement saying "managed the way it is now, Alitalia has no hope of survival".

Union sources said that although pilots and other airline employees have agreed to curb salary demands to help the airline, management had done little towards striking international alliances.

"The real problem at Alitalia is that it lacks an industrial plan and the government has failed to intervene to help make the airline competitive on the market," unions said.

According to trade unions, "the Italian government must decide whether it wants Alitalia to run to make a profit, whether the airline should be as global as well as a national player, or whether it should be managed for sale or liquidation. It's either one or the other".

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2006)