Italian Blue Panorama suspends flights

On Tuesday 26 October Blue Panorama suspended flights, making it the fourth Italian airline to fold since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.

Blue Panorama became the “umpteenth victim of the crisis”, according to a joint statement made by three Italian trade unions, Filt Cgil, Fit Cisl, and Uiltrasporti, which was released the following day.

One day later, Filt Cgil, Fit Cisl, Uiltrasporti announced in a following statement that Blue Panorama had suspended all flights the previous night.

The secretary of Uil Air Transport Ivan Viglietti told the local press that the airline’s planes were now grounded at a number of airports. The unions will continue to monitor the situation and hoped the situation was “temporary”, Viglietti said.

The unions also stated that the situation in the sector, especially for Italian operators, was worsening and that “the entire supply chain is in a state of crisis”. Across the country’s aviation industry, tens of thousands of jobs were at risk, the statement continued, adding that “quick solutions” and “shock absorbers” were needed to be in place for 2022.