A captain of Italy's flagship national airline was fired after he allegedly fell asleep at the controls, preventing air traffic authorities from communicating with the aircraft for 10 minutes.

According to the Italian newspaper Repubblica, both pilots of the April 30 ITA Airlines flight AZ609 from New York to Rome had fallen asleep at the controls of the Airbus 330.

According to the report, the co-pilot was napping for a "controlled rest" as allowed by policy, although the captain was meant to remain alert and approachable.

The communications blackout, which lasted a little over 10 minutes while the jet was on autopilot, triggered a terror alert. French aviation authorities alerted their counterparts in Rome at 5:21 a.m. to warn that a terrorist hijacking could progress.

On Twitter, Michele Anzaldi, a legislator from the center-left, demanded an official apology from the state-owned airline.

"What happened on the ITA flight from New York, where both pilots fell asleep, is very grave," he stated. "The company has a duty to guarantee that this will never happen again and must apologise to the passengers."

While ITA Airlines' internal inquiry revealed reasons for dismissing the captain, who denies falling asleep, it did not provide a precise explanation for his odd radio silence.

The flight was on autopilot, flew at a standard speed and altitude, and never deviated from its intended path.

Davide D'Amico, a spokesman for the airline, told The Daily Telegraph that safety was never compromised.

ITA Airways, previously Alitalia, is the new state-owned flag carrier airline of Italy, reorganized by the government following Alitalia's formal bankruptcy declaration last autumn.

ITA stated in a statement to The Telegraph that its internal inquiry concluded that the captain's actions throughout the flight and after landing were "not in compliance with procedure."

The airline emphasized "clearly and rigorously" that the trip's safety was always ensured, thanks to advanced technologies onboard.