Italy’s ITA takes to skies from the ashes of Alitalia

Italy’s ITA takes to skies from the ashes of Alitalia

MILAN: Italy’s new national carrier ITA Airways took its debut flight Friday, closing a turbulent chapter that witnessed the decline of the country’s storied but ill-fated Alitalia after 74 eventful years. ITA has been formed out of the ashes of the loss-making Alitalia, which was placed under state administration in 2017 but deteriorated further during the coronavirus pandemic. Under a deal agreed with the European Union, the new debt-free venture has taken over half of Alitalia’s planes and landing slots – but thousands of staff are out of a job.

ITA’s first flight from Milan to the southern city of Bari arrived at 7:39 am, just hours after Alitalia’s last landing Thursday night in Rome – itself an emotional affair. “This is considered the last flight of Alitalia,” pilot Captain Andrea Gioia solemnly told passengers, before the crew were met by a toast by fellow employees on their arrival at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport. Alitalia’s iconic green, white and red logo will not disappear from European skies, however, as ITA successfully bid to buy the brand late Thursday for 90 million euros ($105 million).

Desperate staff

Launched on May 5, 1947, Alitalia symbolized the economic success of post-WWII Italy, and it became the airline