The transport minister of Italy signed the decree under which the government approved the establishment of a new state-owned air carrier which will take over the assets of Alitalia. The new airline is set to be renamed as Alitalia ITA (Italia Transporto Aero) and enter service by 2022.
Ministers of Transport, Economy, Labour and Economic Development signed for the creation of the new Italian flag carrier on October 10, 2020. The launch is a further governmental step into Alitalia’s nationalization. Earlier in October, Giuseppe Leogrande, a state-appointed administrator of Alitalia, told the Parliament that a proper measure to keep the struggling airline operational could be a new state-controlled company, the launch of which would allow saving the air carrier’s assets.
Before starting operations in 2022, the management of the new Alitalia ITA has to prepare a business strategy to ensure an economic discontinuity from previous Alitalia. The new business strategy will need to be approved by the European Commission.
According to local media, Alitalia has still around 7,000 workers left on a redundancy fund. The Alitalia’s employees asked the new airline’s management to include them in the new Alitalia ITA’s business strategy. However, the new management has not announced its decision yet. The fate of these employees will be clarified only after the business plan is approved.
The government of Italia unsuccessfully attempted to create a new company in May 2020. At the time, the government planned to launch a new state-owned airline that should have taken the control of Alitalia. For the aim, the state allocated a €3 billion worth of financial injection. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has ruined the plans.