... And the protest at Piazza del Campidoglio is a symbolic refusal to accept the situation after ' 2021 Born ITA ' !

Protest at Piazza del Campidoglio !

Long time financially ill and battered by the Pandemic air Travel woes, the Italian airline for decades made its final flight on October 14th,  a new airline - ITA began flying the next day using some of Alitalia's aircraft.

Now , when Alitalia became a part of History, the Former Alitalia employees are not happy with the situation created by the Successor 'Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA)'  - " Born in 2021 " !

• Around 50 former Alitalia flight attendants stripped out of their uniforms in a choreographed flash mob protest outside Rome city hall on Wednesday .
• The ex-Alitalia employees were protesting over the loss of jobs and the working conditions of colleagues re-hired by the slimmed-down ITA Airways following its acquisition of Italy's former national airline.
• Though Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) bought the Alitalia brand , the new entity is hiring less than 3.000 of Alitalia's 11.000 employees.

When ITA took to the skies last Friday it employed only around 2,800 of the almost 11,000 Alitalia staff, amid claims by unions that the workers were taken on with significantly lower salaries.

In a symbolic protest in central Rome, Dozens , lets say around 50 former flight attendants stood in rows in a square atop Rome's Capitoline Hill, lowered their company shoulder bags to the cobblestone pavement , then slowly and in synch , removed their overcoats , then uniform jackets , then skirts , then stepped out of their high-heeled shoes .

Literally drawing necessary attention , wearing only underwear, at a silent and choreographed protest, the female protesters showed that they refuse to accept the situation.

Ater stripping down to their undergarments, the hostesses remained in silence for several minutes before picking up their clothes and chanting: “We are Alitalia!”

A spokesperson for the group said the choreographed protest on the Capitoline Hill was designed to show solidarity with colleagues "who were forced to sign a humiliating and mortifying company contract."

In the days leading up to Alitalia’s demise, trade unions failed to come to an agreement with ITA over terms and conditions for workers that transferred to the new airline.

• Trade union authorities say those working for ITA are being hired on significantly lower salaries.
• Trade union leaders have been pushing the government to extend unemployment benefit to the affected workers over five years.

The decision to shut down Alitalia and replace it with the state-backed ITA Airways was part of a deal the Italian government struck with the European Commission to write off Alitalia’s massive debts.

Employees of Italian airline Alitalia stage a protest outside Terminal 1 of Rome's Fiumicino airport on October 15, 2021, as new Italian airline company ITA commences operations.ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Earlier , ITA bought the rights to the Alitalia brand name for €90 million but company bosses say they only acquired the brand to prevent it from falling into the hands of a rival.

They hope to sell ITA to a major investor in the next few years. Contenders could include Germany’s Lufthansa or the Madrid-headquartered IAG.