Hundreds of international and domestic flights in Italy were cancelled Friday as air transport workers held a nationwide strike to protest feared firings and salary cuts at troubled Alitalia. Attempts to find a buyer for the airline, run by state-appointed administrators since it declared bankruptcy in 2017, fell apart last month. Last week, the Italian govt agreed to grant Alitalia a new E400m (US$445m) loan to keep it afloat until a buyer can be found. Friday's strike cancelled more than 350 Alitalia flights, and several flights by Air Italy. Unions say they want a mixture of state and private investment in Alitalia. “We favour both a public investment in Alitalia, which would grant us more protection on the jobs’ side, and a private partner, which would bring the needed know-how to the company,” said the national Filt-Cgil union. <br/>