Company has until December to return 900 million euros to the Italian government
The Italian government has signaled that it will strive to maintain the national flag airline Alitalia, with at least 51% of the shares.
“Italianness is a key point in Alitalia’s future,” Infrastructure and Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli told RaiNews24. “We will make Alitalia a 51% Italian flag carrier once again, with a partner that will make it fly,” he said. On the same day, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Labor Luigi di Maio said he intends to “personally” follow the process of selling Alitalia.
“On the part of this government, the necessary dialogues are underway to ensure a future for this company, to best protect the demands of workers and the group”, he highlighted. “I will personally act with all international players to find a future for Alitalia”, added Di Maio, informing that the government is “analyzing all economic and financial information”.
Di Maio had confessed that he had not yet met with representatives from the German company Lufthansa or the British company EasyJet to discuss the sale of Alitalia.
Negotiations over the future of Italy's largest airline, which is under government intervention, were halted because of the March 4 elections and the cabinet transition period, which concluded only on June 1. The deadline to complete the sale of Alitalia was set for the end of October. The company has until December 15th to repay a loan of 900 million euros to the Italian government.
News originally published in This is
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