Description

Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A.,^[3][4] operating as Alitalia (Italian pronunciation: [aliˈtaːlja]), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy.^[5] The company had its head office in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital.^[6] The airline was owned by the Government of Italy from its founding in 1946 until it was privatized in 2009; after struggling with profitability while a private company, including failed negotiations to sell to other private parties, the Italian government took ownership of the airline in March 2020. The airline operated a fleet of Airbus A319-100, Airbus A320-200, Airbus A321-100, Airbus A330-200, and Boeing 777-200ER aircraft to over 34 scheduled domestic, European and intercontinental destinations. The airline operated from its main hub at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport. The airline was a full member of SkyTeam alliance, and it had codeshare agreements with 42 airlines. In 2018, the airline was the twelfth-largest airline in Europe.

The airline entered extraordinary administration in 2017 following years of unprofitability.^[7] On 24 August 2021, Alitalia announced that it would cease operations on 15 October 2021,^[8] and that passengers with tickets for later flights could reschedule on an earlier flight or request a refund.^[9][10] On 15 October 2021, in a hybrid reorganization, Alitalia sold its entire operation to ITA Airways, a newly formed state-owned flag carrier.^[11]