(ANSA) - Rome, July 22 - Interior Minister Angelino Alfano on Friday ordered law enforcement to ensure air traffic flows unimpeded by labor strikes on Saturday, based on national public order laws.
Tomorrow will be one of the most crowded at airports this summer, with 2,200 domestic and international flights carrying 350,000 passengers between 10:00 and 18:00, of which 450 at Rome's Fiumicino airport alone, Alfano said.
The order came after a series of airport strikes were back on track Friday as the Lazio Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR) annulled an injunction by Transport Minister Graziano Delrio postponing the labor actions at Rome and Milan airports including Fiumicino, Linate and Malpensa.
Delrio's injunction issued yesterday sought to avert a total of 14 different strikes, including an eight-hour strike by ENAV air traffic controllers, operators and meteorologists, an eight-hour strike by non-managerial staff at ENAV, Alitalia and Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) airport operator, and an eight-hour strike by employees of Airport Handling company, which operates at Milan's Linate and Malpensa airports.
The TAR ruled that Delrio's measure was not based on "exceptional reasons" and therefore he can't limit the right to strike in this case. The court added the government failed to inform the national strike watchdog before deciding to postpone the airport strike to a later date. The ruling upheld an appeal by flight attendants and air traffic controllers unions.