Meerkat,
The fact is that nothing has been done on the issue for decades in Italy.Only now when Alitalia pilots see their flying done by Volare (code-sharing) the unions are waking up.Which pilot union could allow the pilots to legally work 17 hour duty periods without any regard to carcadian rhythm.Or three pilots could go on for 24 hours without dedicated rest space on plane.Volare also flies to UK.Can check:
www.anva.net
The EU Commission has washed its hands
of the issue after sleeping on it for years and now we have the Simpson affair.
Pilots of all nations unite!
But we are our own worst enemies.