MILAN — Italian ******* Alitalia has cancelled nearly 200 flights due to a 24-hour pilots ******.

The ****** Wednesday comes amid uncertainty over the struggling *******’s future ahead of an Oct. 15 deadline for the presentation of a binding takeover offer from a consortium of investors.

Alitalia cancelled 35% of the 520 flights scheduled during the ****** by three unions and assigned larger aircraft to domestic routes in a bid to accommodate passengers whose flights were affected. Flights were guaranteed during morning and evening commute times.

The Italian government has been pressing the U.S. ******* Delta to increase its stake in a new Alitalia from around 10% to more than 15%. Leading the new consortium would be the Italian State Railway along with the Benetton family holding company Atlantia.