Earlier efforts to restructure Olympic have failed

In Greece, Olympic Airways cancelled 13 international and 12 domestic flights after cabin staff went on a 48-hour strike in protest at pay cuts.

A strike by staff at Italian state airline Alitalia forced 195 domestic and international flights to be cancelled, the company said. Ground staff and crews were protesting against an airline restructuring plan.

No guarantees

Planes were grounded and Alitalia check-in desks deserted at Rome's Fiumicino airport in protest against the plan , which would reduce the workforce by 2,700.

The walkout started at 1130 GMT and ended four hours later.

Alitalia is seeking a tie-up with Air France and KLM

According to the airline, the protest left some 25,500 passengers stranded.

Alitalia is battling to cut costs and improve its financial health so it can join a merger between Air France and It has forecast a full-year operating loss of over 400 million euros.

"We are completely against Alitalia's industrial plan because it cuts jobs but gives no guarantee of growth for the company," said Stefani Pietrini, flight attendant and spokeswoman for one of the air transport unions.

Further delays possible

In Greece thousands of travellers were also left stranded as striking flight attendants defied a court order to return to work, forcing Olympic to cancel more than half its scheduled flights.

The action - which could last until Monday - forced Olympic to cancel 18 of its 31 domestic and international flights early on Friday.

The cabin attendants were protesting at plans to have them transferred to a new streamlined carrier - Olympic Airlines - which was expected to start operating in December.

The attendants' union says the revamped airline is asking workers to accept longer hours and pay cuts.

"There will be no further cancellations today but we don't rule out new ones on Saturday," said Giorgos Bakos, Olympic Airways' spokesman.