Italian carrier ITA Airways reached a wage accord with unions on Wednesday, averting the threat of the first strike since it began flying in 2021. The agreement envisages a realignment of pay levels for ground and flight personnel with European airlines, Filt-Cgil union official Fabrizio Cuscito said. The company and unions did not disclose the size of the wage increases. Earlier this month, unions at the successor to former flagship airline Alitalia, which employs around 3,600 workers, had threatened to call a four-hour stoppage on Feb. 28 after the company delayed signing a deal over salaries. They had urged the government to intervene. Rome is discussing the sale of a minority stake in the company with German carrier Lufthansa. Salvatore Pellecchia, head of the Fit-Cisl union, said the next step is discussions on ITA's industrial plan, "also with the new partner Lufthansa", to assess the strategy for the airline, both in terms of fleet and workforce enlargement.<br/>
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KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM, said Wednesday it would not have to cancel any flights during the May vacation period as a result of passenger caps imposed by Schiphol airport in light of labour shortages. However, a spokesperson for the company said KLM would be obliged to sell fewer tickets on the Dutch market. "It is disappointing that Schiphol is now forced to limit the number of departing passengers on peak days during the May holiday, albeit on a small scale," the company said. On Tuesday Schiphol said it would allow 66,000 passengers to depart daily during the May vacation period. That is an increase from 40,000 at present, but still below 2019 levels. The airport said that meant 5% fewer flights could be booked than airlines would have liked on peak travel days. The airport suffered from long lines and delays during much of 2022 due to shortages of security staff, baggage handlers and ground crews. Schiphol, now under new management, says it and various other companies at the airport have made steady progress in hiring staff. However private security firms are still short several hundred workers and labour unions have warned shortages and growing discontent over pay among baggage handlers could lead to new problems this summer. KLM, which says it suffered more than E300m in lost revenue in 2022 as a result of the problems at Schiphol, said it had taken into account remaining possible shortages in its own staff as part of its network planning.<br/>