Italy Has Approved The Creation Of A New Company To Take Over The Assets Of The Insolvent Airline Alitalia

Italy Has Approved The Creation Of A New Company To Take Over The Assets Of The Insolvent Airline Alitalia

Italy has approved the creation of a new company to take over the assets of the insolvent airline Alitalia. It has thus moved towards the nationalization of the airline. According to Reuters, the nationalization of Alitalia was planned earlier, but the whole process was postponed by political disputes. An agreement was finally reached and at the end of this week, four ministers signed an agreement to create a new airline. "We have managed to create a new flag carrier," said Transport Minister Paola De Micheli after signing. According to the Minister of Economy and Finance Robert Gualtieri, quoted by the DPA, this is the first step towards creating a company that will be competitive in international markets. In addition to De Micheli and Gualtieri, the agreement was signed by the Minister of Industry and the Minister of Labor. The plan to nationalize Alitalia has yet to be approved by the European Commission. Alitalia has only made a profit a few times in its more than 70-year history, most recently in 2002. In May 2017, it announced insolvency after its employees did not approve a rescue plan at the end of April of the same year. The company expected a reduction in salaries and jobs, which they refused to accept. As regards the nationalization of Alitalia, the Italian Government stated that state control over the company should be only temporary. In the future, airlines could be re-privatized. However, many economists remain skeptical about the company's future. They point to the fact that she was rescued in 2008 and 2014 and still did not get out of trouble.