A strike by Alitalia flight attendants caused havoc for passengers on Thursday, with the struggling national carrier forced to cancel more than 350 flights.
The 24-hour stoppage, which began at midnight, led to the cancellation of 202 domestic flights and 154 international ones.
It was called by air transport unions over stalled contract renewal negotiations.
In particular, the unions are demanding inflation-busting pay rises for the loss-making carrier's flight attendants and better conditions for pilots staying in certain long-haul destinations.
Unions are due to resume their talks with Alitalia management early next week.
Union official Claudio Genovesi said he hoped Thursday's strike would lead to "constructive negotiations on the issues at the heart of the stoppage".
Guglielmo Epifani, who heads Italy's biggest union CGIL, said the strike was "another sign of the difficult period the airline is going through".
"Common sense would suggest that this is not the best time for labour unrest but the right to a contract is sacred," he said.
Alitalia, which has not posted an operating profit since 1998, last month reported a 2006 pre-tax loss of 405 million euros.
Its net debt currently stands at more than 1.1 billion euros.
The Italian government is currently organising the sale of at least 39.9% of its 49.9% stake in the carrier and interested bidders include the state-owned Russian carrier Aeroflot.
Aeroflot holds a 95% stake in its consortium with Unicredit, Italy's largest bank in terms of market capitalisation.
The two other candidates interested in Alitalia are AP Holding led by Carlo Toto, the chairman of Italy's second-biggest airline Air One; and a consortium consisting of two US private equity firms, Matlin Patterson and Texas Pacific Group, and Milan investment bank Mediobanca.
Air France-KLM was once seen as the most likely final buyer of Alitalia but the Franco-Dutch giant has been put off by the Italian carrier's poor financial shape.
Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi said on Thursday that next week would be a "decisive" one for the examination of the rival bids.
The Treasury hopes to complete the sale by mid June.
The government announced its decision to privatise Alitalia at the end of last year.
