Alitalia

The story of Alitalia is one of many mergers in post-war Italy, followed by expansion and ending in a series of subsequent bankruptcies. Alitalia was set up in 1946 as Aerolinee Italiane Internazionali as a result of an Anglo-Italian agreement with the Italian government (60 %) and BEA (40%) as shareholders. The airline took to the sky on May 5, 1947 and transported in its first year some 10,000 passengers. On October 31, 1957, Alitalia merged with Linee Aeree Italiane. In 1981, Alitalia started up Aermediterranea to replace defunct Itavia on the Italian domestic scene. Notwithstanding a rapid expansion, Alitalia encountered financial problems. The airline entered administration in 2017 following years of unprofitability. On 24 August 2021, Alitalia announced that it would cease operations on 15 October 2021. On 15 October 2021, in a hybrid reorganization, Alitalia sold its entire operation to ITA Airways, a newly formed state-owned flag carrier.