Bad weather: snow and freezing cold at least until Sunday on Italy

"Snow at low altitudes, strong winds and a marked decrease of temperatures: these are the significant phenomena expected for the next days. The bad weather wave will continue at least until next Sunday, caused from intense artic flows on Italy that, as announced in the last days through issue of adverse conditions notices, is interesting the Peninsula.

From this morning, snowfalls are predicted on Central-Southern regions and on the major Isles. The snowfalls are expected also on sea level on all Adriatic side and on Central regions, from Friday to Sunday.

In addition, the awaited fall of temperatures on all Country, with minimal temperatures that will decrease below zero, will favor diffused frosts that on North will result persistent and interest also the valley zones.

Storms and downpour to continue in the next days, in particular on Southern Tyrrhenian side, but on Friday will interest also the rest of Central-South and Sardinia, also if in a minor measure.

Strong winds will persist on major part of Italian regions, favoring a general increase of wave-motion: in particular, very uneasy basins are expected around the major Islands until Friday".

AVIONEWS

Ryanair specials for Valentine`s day

Ryanair Gift Vouchers - available from only £25/€25 up to £200/€200
Gift vouchers will be emailed to you or your intended recipient, including a personalised message!
Choose from our extensive & expanding route network, over 800+ routes across 25 countries
Quick and Easy gifts!
Let friends & family decide where and when they want to go

Ryanair gift vouchers are redeemable online at www.ryanair.com
From £25 and €25



View Ryanair Gift Voucher Terms and Conditions

UK Flight Disruptions - Heavy Snow 02-03/02/2009

Due to the continuing severe weather (heavy snow) across much of the UK, the following flights have been cancelled on February 2nd and 3rd, 2009.
To Rebook Flights OnlineCustomers who are booked to travel on one of the below cancelled flights can rebook their flights free of charge, subject to availability, by clicking on the web link below. Customers can access this link up to the 05/02/2009 for travel on flights up to the 15/02/2009.
https://www.bookryanair.com/SkySales/FRManageBooking.aspx?culture=EN-GB&pos=MYFLIGHT
However, passengers may also travel to their booked destination by transferring their flight to travel from another Ryanair airport/hub. Passengers are requested to make such requests at the airport ticket desk or call centre where this will be arranged free of charge.
We also have a Flight Disruption line operating today on +353 1 2480857 To contact our main call centre click here for details - http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=CONTACT&div=call_ctr
Alternatively, for customers who are booked on any of the below flights, who wish to cancel and claim a full refund on the unused flight(s) please click on the link below and enter the required details. Due to the holiday period, refunds will be processed in 7-14 working days back to the form of payment used to pay for the booking.
http://schchng.ryanair.com/refweb.asp
Ryanair sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that these cancellations outside of our control may cause.
02/02/2009
.
Cancelled Flights Listed Alphabetically
FR
713
Aarhus
London Stansted
FR
9066
Alicante
Billund
FR
9887
Alicante
Liverpool
FR
5562
Alicante
London Gatwick
FR
5568
Alicante
London Gatwick
FR
1506
Alicante
London Stansted
FR
8383
Alicante
London Stansted
FR
8927
Altenburg
London Stansted
FR
125
Ancona
London Stansted
FR
9775
Baden Baden
London Stansted
FR
3769
Barcelona Girona
London Luton
FR
3465
Barcelona Reus
London Luton
FR
29
Beauvais Paris
Dublin
FR
1425
Belfast City
Liverpool
FR
6122
Belfast City
London Stansted
FR
6128
Belfast City
London Stansted
FR
8543
Berlin
London Stansted
FR
8547
Berlin Schonefeld
London Stansted
FR
6023
Bezier
Bristol
FR
3457
Bezier
London Luton
FR
747
Biarritz
Birmingham
FR
373
Biarritz
London Stansted
FR
9067
Billund
Alicante
FR
6633
Billund
Edinburgh
FR
5173
Billund
London Stansted
FR
1212
Birmingham
Bydgoszcz
FR
669
Birmingham
Dublin
FR
2185
Birmingham
Dusseldorf Weeze
FR
1072
Birmingham
Porto
FR
746
Birmingham
Biarritz
FR
667
Birmingham
Dublin
FR
9457
Bologna
Dublin
FR
195
Bologna
London Stansted
FR
6603
Bournemouth
Edinburgh
FR
6605
Bournemouth
Edinburgh
FR
5944
Bournemouth
Malaga
FR
6643
Bratislava
Edinburgh
FR
2315
Bratislava
London Stansted
FR
2317
Bratislava
London Stansted
FR
3617
Bremen
London Stansted
FR
3631
Bremen
London Stansted
FR
3633
Bremen
London Stansted
FR
1906
Bari
London Stansted
FR
6022
Bristol
Bezier
FR
505
Bristol
Dublin
FR
507
Bristol
Dublin
FR
509
Bristol
Dublin
FR
9336
Bristol
Girona Barcelona
FR
8404
Brno
London Stansted
FR
47
Brussels Charleroi
Dublin
FR
1024
Budapest
Dublin
FR
4323
Budapest
Liverpool
FR
1213
Bydgoszcz
Birmingham
FR
2463
Bydgoszcz
London Stansted
FR
73
Carcassonne
London Stansted
FR
9885
City of Derry
Liverpool
FR
612
City of Derry
London Stansted
FR
9848
Cork
Dublin
FR
9856
Cork
Dublin
FR
902
Cork
London Stansted
FR
906
Cork
London Stansted
FR
908
Cork
London Stansted
FR
515
Dinard
London Stansted
FR
666
Dublin
Birmingham
FR
668
Dublin
Birmingham
FR
9456
Dublin
Bologna
FR
508
Dublin
Bristol
FR
46
Dublin
Brussels Charleroi
FR
1023
Dublin
Budapest
FR
9849
Dublin
Cork
FR
536
Dublin
East Midlands
FR
9989
Dublin
Frankfurt Hahn
FR
448
Dublin
Liverpool
FR
118
Dublin
London Gatwick
FR
1126
Dublin
London Gatwick
FR
338
Dublin
London Luton
FR
342
Dublin
London Luton
FR
332
Dublin
London Luton
FR
334
Dublin
London Luton
FR
202
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
206
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
208
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
216
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
294
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
556
Dublin
Manchester
FR
558
Dublin
Manchester
FR
176
Dublin
Newcastle
FR
26
Dublin
Paris Beauvais
FR
778
Dublin
Prestwick Glasgow
FR
504
Dublin
Bristol
FR
9857
Dublin
Cork
FR
538
Dublin
East Midlands
FR
816
Dublin
Edinburgh
FR
818
Dublin
Edinburgh
FR
7036
Dublin
Girona
FR
156
Dublin
Leeds Bradford
FR
224
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
288
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
298
Dublin
London Stansted
FR
7156
Dublin
Madrid
FR
9428
Dublin
Milan Bergamo
FR
856
Dublin
Oslo Torp
FR
3253
Dusseldorf Weeze
London Stansted
FR
3259
Dusseldorf Weeze
London Stansted
FR
8606
Dusseldorf Weeze
Milan Bergamo
FR
537
East Midlands
Dublin
FR
539
East Midlands
Dublin
FR
1702
East Midlands
Milan Bergamo
FR
1924
East Midlands
Murcia
FR
6632
Edinburgh
Billund
FR
6642
Edinburgh
Bratislava
FR
819
Edinburgh
Dublin
FR
817
Edinburgh
Dublin
FR
6618
Edinburgh
Poznan
FR
9272
Eindhoven
London Stansted
FR
9274
Eindhoven
London Stansted
FR
751
Frankfurt Hahn
London Stansted
FR
757
Frankfurt Hahn
London Stansted
FR
2002
Friedrichschafen
London Stansted
FR
2004
Friedrichschafen
London Stansted
FR
2373
Gdansk
London Stansted
FR
7037
Girona
Dublin
FR
9807
Girona
London Stansted
FR
404
Glasgow Prestwick
London Stansted
FR
426
Glasgow Prestwick
London Stansted
FR
965
Gothenburg
London Stansted
FR
969
Gothenburg
London Stansted
FR
5733
Graz
London Stansted
FR
2133
Grenoble
London Stansted
FR
8397
Jerez
London Stansted
FR
8169
Katowice
London Stansted
FR
708
Kerry
London Stansted
FR
843
Kerry
London Luton
FR
702
Kerry
London Stansted
FR
8143
Knock
London Luton
FR
806
Knock
London Stansted
FR
2433
Krakow
London Stansted
FR
2437
Krakow
London Stansted
FR
157
Leeds Bradford
Dublin
FR
8777
Limoges
London Stansted
FR
9886
Liverpool
Alicante
FR
1424
Liverpool
Belfast City
FR
4322
Liverpool
Budapest
FR
9884
Liverpool
City of Derry
FR
449
Liverpool
Dublin
FR
4538
Liverpool
Milan Bergamo
FR
9618
Liverpool
Torp Oslo
FR
9602
Liverpool
Treviso Venice
FR
2469
Lodz
London Stansted
FR
5563
London Gatwick
Alicante
FR
5567
London Gatwick
Alicante
FR
119
London Gatwick
Dublin
FR
1127
London Gatwick
Dublin
FR
3456
London Luton
Bezier
FR
331
London Luton
Dublin
FR
333
London Luton
Dublin
FR
8142
London Luton
Knock
FR
4152
London Luton
Milan Bergamo
FR
3256
London Luton
Nimes
FR
1323
London Luton
Shannon
FR
3768
London Luton
Barcelona Girona
FR
3464
London Luton
Barcelona Reus
FR
337
London Luton
Dublin
FR
341
London Luton
Dublin
FR
842
London Luton
Kerry
FR
3882
London Luton
Malta
FR
3452
London Luton
Murcia
FR
712
London Stansted
Aarhus
FR
1507
London Stansted
Alicante
FR
8382
London Stansted
Alicante
FR
8926
London Stansted
Altenburg
FR
124
London Stansted
Ancona
FR
9774
London Stansted
Baden Baden
FR
6123
London Stansted
Belfast City
FR
6129
London Stansted
Belfast City
FR
8542
London Stansted
Berlin
FR
8546
London Stansted
Berlin Schonefeld
FR
372
London Stansted
Biarritz
FR
5172
London Stansted
Billund
FR
194
London Stansted
Bologna
FR
2314
London Stansted
Bratislava
FR
2316
London Stansted
Bratislava
FR
3618
London Stansted
Bremen
FR
3632
London Stansted
Bremen
FR
3634
London Stansted
Bremen
FR
1905
London Stansted
Brindisi
FR
8403
London Stansted
Brno
FR
2462
London Stansted
Bydgoszcz
FR
72
London Stansted
Carcassonne
FR
611
London Stansted
City of Derry
FR
901
London Stansted
Cork
FR
905
London Stansted
Cork
FR
907
London Stansted
Cork
FR
514
London Stansted
Dinard
FR
203
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
205
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
207
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
211
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
225
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
227
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
293
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
297
London Stansted
Dublin
FR
3252
London Stansted
Dusseldorf Weeze
FR
3258
London Stansted
Dusseldorf Weeze
FR
9271
London Stansted
Eindhoven
FR
9273
London Stansted
Eindhoven
FR
752
London Stansted
Frankfurt Hahn
FR
758
London Stansted
Frankfurt Hahn
FR
2001
London Stansted
Friedrichschafen
FR
2003
London Stansted
Friedrichschafen
FR
2372
London Stansted
Gdansk
FR
9806
London Stansted
Girona
FR
407
London Stansted
Glasgow Prestwick
FR
419
London Stansted
Glasgow Prestwick
FR
964
London Stansted
Gothenburg
FR
968
London Stansted
Gothenburg
FR
5732
London Stansted
Graz
FR
2132
London Stansted
Grenoble
FR
8396
London Stansted
Jerez
FR
8168
London Stansted
Katowice
FR
701
London Stansted
Kerry
FR
709
London Stansted
Kerry
FR
805
London Stansted
Knock
FR
2432
London Stansted
Krakow
FR
2436
London Stansted
Krakow
FR
8776
London Stansted
Limoges
FR
2468
London Stansted
Lodz
FR
434
London Stansted
Lubeck
FR
436
London Stansted
Lubeck
FR
5994
London Stansted
Madrid
FR
6538
London Stansted
Marseilles
FR
6542
London Stansted
Marseilles
FR
4184
London Stansted
Milan Bergamo
FR
4196
London Stansted
Milan Bergamo
FR
4198
London Stansted
Milan Bergamo
FR
632
London Stansted
Montpellier
FR
8027
London Stansted
Murcia
FR
4242
London Stansted
Nantes
FR
3918
London Stansted
Palermo
FR
8386
London Stansted
Palma Mallorca
FR
4214
London Stansted
Parma
FR
586
London Stansted
Pisa
FR
582
London Stansted
Pisa
FR
8343
London Stansted
Porto
FR
8345
London Stansted
Porto
FR
8347
London Stansted
Porto
FR
2336
London Stansted
Poznan
FR
2642
London Stansted
Riga
FR
3002
London Stansted
Rome Ciampino
FR
3004
London Stansted
Rome Ciampino
FR
3006
London Stansted
Rome Ciampino
FR
3014
London Stansted
Rome Ciampino
FR
302
London Stansted
Salzburg
FR
304
London Stansted
Salzburg
FR
306
London Stansted
Salzburg
FR
2612
London Stansted
Santander
FR
8378
London Stansted
Santiago de Compostela
FR
8363
London Stansted
Seville
FR
103
London Stansted
Shannon
FR
105
London Stansted
Shannon
FR
109
London Stansted
Shannon
FR
52
London Stansted
Stockholm Skavsta
FR
2466
London Stansted
Szczecin
FR
2194
London Stansted
Tampere
FR
32
London Stansted
Torp Oslo
FR
34
London Stansted
Torp Oslo
FR
36
London Stansted
Torp Oslo
FR
38
London Stansted
Torp Oslo
FR
168
London Stansted
Trieste
FR
464
London Stansted
Turin
FR
8321
London Stansted
Valencia
FR
684
London Stansted
Vasteras
FR
796
London Stansted
Venice Treviso
FR
798
London Stansted
Venice Treviso
FR
8405
London Stansted
Wroclaw
FR
2634
London Stansted
Zaragoza
FR
5554
London Stansted
Zweibrucken
FR
435
Lubeck
London Stansted
FR
437
Lubeck
London Stansted
FR
7157
Madrid
Dublin
FR
5993
Madrid
London Stansted
FR
5482
Madrid
Porto
FR
3883
Malta
London Luton
FR
559
Manchester
Dublin
FR
557
Manchester
Dublin
FR
149
Manchester
Shannon
FR
6539
Marseilles
London Stansted
FR
6541
Marseilles
London Stansted
FR
9429
Milan Bergamo
Dublin
FR
8607
Milan Bergamo
Dusseldorf Weeze
FR
1703
Milan Bergamo
East Midlands
FR
4151
Milan Bergamo
London Luton
FR
4185
Milan Bergamo
London Stansted
FR
4195
Milan Bergamo
London Stansted
FR
4197
Milan Bergamo
London Stansted
FR
633
Montpellier
London Stansted
FR
1925
Murcia
East Midlands
FR
3453
Murcia
London Luton
FR
8028
Murcia
London Stansted
FR
4243
Nantes
London Stansted
FR
177
Newcastle
Dublin
FR
3257
Nimes
London Luton
FR
857
Oslo Torp
Dublin
FR
3919
Palermo
London Stansted
FR
8387
Palma Mallorca
London Stansted
FR
4215
Parma
London Stansted
FR
583
Pisa
London Stansted
FR
587
Pisa
London Stansted
FR
1073
Porto
Birmingham
FR
8344
Porto
London Stansted
FR
8346
Porto
London Stansted
FR
8348
Porto
London Stansted
FR
5483
Porto
Madrid
FR
6619
Poznam
Edinburgh
FR
2337
Poznan
London Stansted
FR
777
Prestwick Glasgow
Dublin
FR
2643
Riga
London Stansted
FR
2734
Riga
Tampere
FR
3003
Rome Ciampino
London Stansted
FR
3005
Rome Ciampino
London Stansted
FR
3009
Rome Ciampino
London Stansted
FR
3015
Rome Ciampino
London Stansted
FR
303
Salzburg
London Stansted
FR
305
Salzburg
London Stansted
FR
307
Salzburg
London Stansted
FR
2613
Santander
London Stansted
FR
8379
Santiago de Compostela
London Stansted
FR
8364
Seville
London Stansted
FR
4636
Seville
Milan Bergamo
FR
2116
Seville
Reus
FR
1322
Shannon
London Luton
FR
102
Shannon
London Stansted
FR
104
Shannon
London Stansted
FR
108
Shannon
London Stansted
FR
148
Shannon
Manchester
FR
53
Stockholm Skavsta
London Stansted
FR
2467
Szczecin
London Stansted
FR
2195
Tampere
London Stansted
FR
2735
Tampere
Riga
FR
9619
Torp Oslo
Liverpool
FR
33
Torp Oslo
London Stansted
FR
33
Torp Oslo
London Stansted
FR
35
Torp Oslo
London Stansted
FR
37
Torp Oslo
London Stansted
FR
39
Torp Oslo
London Stansted
FR
169
Trieste
London Stansted
FR
465
Turin
London Stansted
FR
8322
Valencia
London Stansted
FR
685
Vasteras
London Stansted
FR
9603
Venice Treviso
Liverpool
FR
797
Venice Treviso
London Stansted
FR
799
Venice Treviso
London Stansted
FR
8406
Wroclaw
London Stansted
FR
2635
Zaragoza
London Stansted
FR
5555
Zweibrucken
London Stansted
03/02/2009
.
FR9076
Alicante
Doncaster
FR4784
Bournemouth
Milan Bergamo
FR5951
Bournemouth
Glsagow Prestwick
FR6603
Bournemouth
Edinburgh
FR9077
Doncaster
Alicante
FR6602
Edinburgh
Bournemouth
FR5952
Glasgow Prestwick
Bournemouth
FR153
Leeds Bradford
Dublin
FR4783
Milan Bergamo
Bournemouth

To check flight times please access the Ryanair Live Flight Information - http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/fltinfo.php

Alghero by ferry: Grimaldi ferry boat alternative to Ryanair flights to Rome and Barcelona

Through an unprecedented initiative, the Grimaldi Group (Naples) has announced the contemporaneous launch of nine new motorways of the sea for passengers and freight. The new maritime links will be operating as from the end of January and will be managed by Grimaldi Lines with the “Low Cost” formula through the deployment of the most modern Cruise Ferries as well as traditional ferries, linking Sardinia to Spain and mainland Italy. The new and innovative Motorways of the Sea for passengers and freight are the following:

- Porto Torres / Barcelona / Porto Torres- Civitavecchia / Porto Torres / Civitavecchia;- Civitavecchia / Catania / Civitavecchia;- Civitavecchia / Trapani / Civitavecchia;- Civitavecchia / Malta / Civitavecchia;- Genoa / Malta / Genoa;- Genoa / Catania / Genoa;- Catania / Malta / Catania;- Trapani / Tunis / Trapani.

Are these new Grimaldi ferry boat connections alternatives to the existing Ryanair flights to Rome and Barcelona for passengers with excess baggage?

Heavy Stroms about to hit Sardinia today

An intense low pressure system has swung east across the Bay of Biscay to pound southwest France this morning. Winds gusting in excess of 90 mph around Bordeaux have brought power lines down and closed the airport. At 8 o'clock this morning, 70mph winds were still battering southwest France, the north coast of Spain, and also the northeast around Reus airport and up to Barcelona.
This vicious little low will head to Italy and the Adriatic for Sunday with a welcome respite for many as the winds ease down.
Another low is set to form in the western Mediterranean on Tuesday bringing gales but nothing as severe as today.

Swept away in Sardinia - The Sydney Morning Herald on Alghero

Daniel Scott is taken by the tranquillity of a glamorous island gem.

There is a touch of Walt Disney about this beautifully set castle, built in 1880, right on the rocky north-west coast of Sardinia, in the seaside town of Alghero. Maybe it's the crenellations on its roof, or the sandy yellow and Etruscan-red colouring of its exterior. Perhaps it is the fact that it stands alone on its own private promontory reaching out into the Mediterranean behind big electric gates and tropical gardens. Or it could just be that its history has conferred a certain glitz and glamour upon the Hotel Villa Las Tronas.

It was once the Sardinian holiday home of Italian royalty and more recently the bolthole of the queen of '80s pop music, Madonna, and her husband Guy Ritchie, while filming the remake of the classic movie Swept Away on the island.

The attractive town of Alghero will probably never be as glamorous as Sardinia's yacht-infested Costa Smeralda. But with Alghero airport just 20 minutes away and served regularly by Ryanair from London, this old Catalan-influenced town, which faces the northern Spanish coast, is ideal for a quick break from Britain.

The advantage of the Hotel Villa Las Tronas is that, unlike most hotels in Sardinia, it is open all year round. In fact, December/January is a good time to visit Las Tronas, when temperatures in Sardinia are about 10 degrees above those in northern Europe. And, in any case, all is cosy inside.

But it is during the warmer months when the hotel's extensive grounds come into their own, with a large terrace for evening drinks and a lovely open-air sea-water pool right on the rocks above the Mediterranean.

Whatever the time of year, the Hotel Villa Las Tronas remains determinedly quiet and private in feel. This comfy ambience is mainly achieved in the hotel's public areas, from the small seating area in the lobby through the bar area with its collection of sofas, to the dining area set against the hotel's panoramic ground-floor windows.

Sturdy dark wooden 19th-century cabinets rest against the walls of the lounge below heavy, gilt-framed period paintings, while a number of imposing sculpted busts of (no-doubt notable) moustachioed men adorn the room's alcoves.

A hefty marble fountain-piece sits in the middle of it all and there is a wink to Catalan style in the twisty modern standing lamps dotted around the dining room and lounge area. By contrast, crystal-glass chandeliers hang heavily from the ceiling.

Elsewhere on the ground floor there are a few similarly furnished drawing rooms in which to relax with a book.

The on-site restaurant offers accomplished Mediterranean cuisine, the freshly caught fish such as sea bass or monkfish being the best bets. There is usually a Sardinian speciality on the menu, too, such as gnocchi Sardi in a lamb ragu or fregula (a granular pasta similar to couscous) cooked in a variety of ways. Tangy Sardinian cheeses round off the meal and there is a fair wine list including some earthy reds from nearby Santa Maria di Gallura.

But the real attraction of dining at the Villa Las Tronas is the Royal Albert Hall-standard pianist, who must surely be Sardinia's best. For a couple of hours most evenings, this tousle-haired young musician tickles the ivories in an eclectic but always virtuoso style.

This is a small hotel with about 20 rooms and service is suitably personal. It can be a little slow, particularly at breakfast when your cravings for an espresso can remain unmet for a while, but that is hardly an issue in summer when you can sit out on the terrace and let the view of the Med slowly wake you up.

If you have a room at the front of the hotel, you open the shutters to the full glory of the frothy blue ocean bashing against the rocks below. The attractive skyline of Alghero's old town and the distant headland of Capo Caccio is off to the right, and the wild west coast of Sardinia stretches off to the left.

Bedrooms at the Hotel Villa Las Tronas are square, high-ceilinged and a good size, with dark emerald and black tiled floors. The centrepiece is a good, firm king-sized bed on a metal frame and furnishings are elegant, 19th-century style, including the original fixture for holding a lamp. There are charmingly rickety old-style shutters on both the inside and outside of the long tall windows and large mirrored floor-to-ceiling wardrobes add to the sense of space.

The Hotel Villa Las Tronas is not exactly a 21st-century hotel in terms of technology: the in-room televisions are old and pick up only a few fuzzy satellite channels and the phones in the room are '80s-style. There is, however, hidden away under the stairs on the ground floor, a useful internet connection for guests.

But you won't be staying at this individual and quirky four-star Sardinian hotel for its mod cons; you'll be here for the beauty and tranquillity of its setting.

Sydney Morning Herald

Alitalia is born again

Alitalia, the airline that has flown popes, princes and prima donnas, was reborn as a smaller, privately-owned carrier amid chaos on Tuesday as protests by disgruntled employees delayed or cancelled inaugural flights.
Once a symbol of Italy's post-war economic boom, Alitalia filed for bankruptcy last year, succumbing to labour strife, high costs and mismanagement. A group of Italian investors bought its best parts, leaving the rest to the Italian state.
After months of haggling with unions and frenetic talks with politicians seeking to save local airports, Alitalia flight AZ 676 to Sao Paolo took off promptly at 5:10 a.m. british time from Milan in the carrier's virgin flight under a new network and new owners.
"We've done it. There's no turning back from the new Alitalia now and all the prophets of misfortune have been silenced," said Labour Minister Maurizio Sacconi, whose government had made saving Alitalia a top priority.
But the airline's first domestic flight took off 20 minutes late and 11 flights at Milan's Linate airport were cancelled because all gates for planes were occupied.
In a reminder of the old challenges facing the reshaped carrier, Alitalia workers wary of the impact from a new alliance with Air France-KLM demonstrated at Milan's Malpensa airport by chanting slogans and waving union banners, causing delays.
At Rome's Fiumicino airport, delays of more than two hours were reported as workers marched outside.
Alitalia's unions have been bickering with its new owners for months, accusing them of not respecting prior agreements. Alitalia CEO Rocco Sabelli said the unions were mainly unhappy with their pick of a new cleaning service.

Reuters

Alitalia was merged with the Italian airline Air One that offers regular flights from Rome Fumicino and Milano Linate to Alghero.