Italy’s 74-year-old flag carrier airline Alitalia ended its operations by making its last flight from Cagliari in Sardinia to the capital city of Rome. The plane, carrying 180 passengers, landed at Fiumicino Airport at 23:23 local time, marking the end of an era. After the closure of Alitalia, the newly established ‘Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA)’, with the investment led by the government, has become the official airline of the country as of today.
Having experienced a major financial crisis since 2002, Alitalia still needed state support despite being privatized in 2008. The airline went bankrupt in 2017, and would only continue its activities with two government loans given later. In 2020, it was hit once again by the restrictions stemming from the coronavirus outbreak.
ITA, which is entirely owned by the Italian government, will start its operations with 52 aircraft and will increase the number of aircraft to 105 by 2025. ITA will also employ approximately 2,800 of Alitalia’s employees. The airline will initially fly to 45 destinations, including Frankfurt, Paris, London, New York and Buenos Aires.