Officials in northern Italy are uniting in opposition to Air France-KLM's bid for ailing Alitalia SpA, which would make Rome the nation's only hub at the expense of Milan.
The Air France plan -- which the Alitalia board tipped on Friday as its preferred bidder over Italian airline Air One SpA -- would do away with Alitalia's two-hub system, one at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport and the other at Milan's Malpensa.
Having a hub in Milan has been fiercely defended by northern politicians, but has been criticized as too expensive and impractical. Alitalia's board, under chairman Maurizio Prato, has already signaled its intention to cut traffic to Malpensa.
The Northern League -- a party with a strong regional identity -- has warned of strikes and blockades in opposition to the Air France bid.
David Boni, a northern League official, said the Air France-KLM plan would "put out of the game the only hub that could compete on an international level," while costing the north jobs, the news agency ANSA reported on Sunday.
Lombardy regional president Roberto Formigoni called the board's decision "unacceptable," but said that the ultimate choice of a preferred bidder for the government's 49.9 percent stake will be made by Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government next month.
He urged Rome not to "hide behind the board's decision," saying it "risks playing with fire ... if it abandons the most important territory in the country."
Guglielmo Epifani, leader of the CGIL labor confederation, came out on Sunday against the Alitalia board's choice, citing the failure to guarantee Malpensa's future or to lay out plans for Alitalia's domestic routes.
"These are the problems that require a national operator to confront," Epifani said, according to ANSA. "That isn't simply a matter of the nationality of the company, but rather to have a response to these concerns."
Under Air France's plan, Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport would be integrated into the Air France-KLM hub network as the primary airport for travelers to and from Italy, and would serve as a gateway to southern and eastern Europe and northern Africa, the Alitalia board statement on Friday said.
"The new group, thanks to the presence of a hub in southern Europe, will improve its position with respect to its European competitors," the statement said.
Air France "foresees an important role" for Milan's two airports, with Linate, located in Milan, focused on business travelers while Malpensa would retain its three principal intercontinental connections to North America, South America and Asia, the statement said.
Rome's Leonardo da Vinci had 30.1 million passengers last year, while Malpensa had 21.8 million, according to the Airports Council International. Air France-KLM's other hubs, Paris' Charles De Gaulle and Amsterdam's Schipol, had 56.8 million and 46 million respectively.
The government has been trying to offload the loss-making Alitalia since last December.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to