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Alitalia to be put on sale in two weeks Italian minister says
![Alitalia planes](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2017/05/04/TELEMMGLPICT000127545046_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQfyf2A9a6I9YchsjMeADBa08.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Troubled airline Alitalia is set to go on sale in two weeks’ time, according to Italy’s Minister of Development.
Speaking on Italy’s Radio Anch’io yesterday, Carlo Calenda said he wanted to prioritise the sale of the whole company and while there were no negotiations at present, those overseeing the administration process would be open to offers in the next two weeks.
“When they arrive, we will evaluate them,” he said.
Mr Calenta also pointed to the need for “an alliance with an airline company”.
The airline’s board agreed to enter into administration this week due to the “serious economic and financial situation” of the company after a pay dispute with its workers hit an impasse, preventing the airline from raising fresh financing from shareholders.
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Directors at the flag carrier, which has received €7bn (£5.9bn) from the state in the past 10 years, decided to trigger the process after workers rejected a plan to cut its 12,500-strong workforce and impose pay cuts.
Unions had managed to negotiate cuts down from 30pc to 8pc and reduce predicted job losses from an initial 2,000.
The plan would have paved the way to a €2bn refinancing by shareholders including the Gulf carrier Etihad, which owns 49pc of Alitalia.
The Italian government last night granted Alitalia a €600m bridging loan for the next six months, and the airline said its flight schedule would continue.
The airline has been hit by the rapid growth of low-cost airlines, which have undercut it on price.
The administrators appointed by the Italian government include Luigi Gubitosi, who would have become Alitalia’s chairman if the rescue deal rejected by workers had gone through; Enrico Laghi, who is an administrator for the Ilva steel plant and an accounting professor at Sapienza University of Rome; and academic and engineer Stefano Paleari.