Alitalia (AZPIa.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) union leaders said they were willing to resume collapsed takeover talks with Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) to avert the Italian airline's bankruptcy, but warned that any possible deal would take time.

Air France-KLM has walked out of talks with Alitalia's unions to buy the state's 49.9 stake in the loss-making airline, saying requests by labor leaders were unacceptable.

On Saturday, Italy's Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa who is overseeing Alitalia's sale in the outgoing government urged the airline unions to soften their line with Air France-KLM or face irreversible damage to the company.

Senior labor leaders were quoted on Sunday as saying the unions were ready to get back to the negotiating table with Air France-KLM, but they dismissed the government ultimatum.

"If you want to have a dialogue, you cannot say take it or leave it within 24 hours," Guglielmo Epifani, general secretary of the Cgil union, told La Stampa daily on Sunday.

Air France-KLM's board meets on Monday. The Italian government said it hoped the Franco-Dutch carrier would not completely write off the takeover for Alitalia, which the officials believe offer the airline its best chance of survival.

Once a proud symbol of Italy's post-war boom, Alitalia now loses about one million euros a day and has said it would need a cash injection by mid-year to keep flying.

Alitalia's board is due to decide on April 8 whether to ask for protection from creditors.

Raffaele Bonanni, leader of the Cisl union, hinted a deal with the Franco-Dutch carrier was possible but said the unions would not yield to political pressure to hurry an accord.

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