Alitalia canceled at least 88 flights on Wednesday as the flight attendants union called a 24 hour strike that may cost the airline millions of euros in lost revenue.

It was the third strike by the SULT union since February in a fight for better contracts, and it angered passengers, some of whom arrived at airports unaware of the industrial action.

"This only hurts clients," snapped one angry Italian man, standing before television cameras at Rome's Fiumicino Airport.

SULT union leaders warned that further industrial action may be necessary to fend off cost cuts that Alitalia says are needed for its survival. "In the coming days we'll restart talks... If there are not further developments, there will be more strikes," warned SULT leader Fabrizio Tomaselli.

He added that Alitalia would probably have to cancel far more than the announced 88 flights and pointed to the two past SULT strikes, which caused 141 and 176 cancellations.

Alitalia Chief Executive Giancarlo Cimoli stopped at Fiumicino and to Alitalia staff, without making public comments. Alitalia declined to offer an estimate on losses caused by the strike, but the SULT said it would reduce revenues by millions of euros.

Cimoli's rescue plan for the state-controlled airline focuses on reducing expenses, including thousands of layoffs. Cabin crews were spared job cuts after a deal with the country's largest unions that sacrificed part of employee wages.

But the SULT did not agree to that plan and is holding out for more concessions, a move criticized by larger unions such as FIT-CISL, which said it bowed to Alitalia's offers to help the airline pull back from the brink of collapse.

Alitalia estimates its 2004 losses at EUR850 million (USD$1.1 billion) and is aiming for a capital increase of up to EUR1.2 billion later this year to pay off debt and finance a sweeping restructuring.