by In Trieste
New airline Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) will replace state-owned Alitalia and start flying from October, the Italian economy minister said.
The announcement followed a breakthrough in talks between Italy and the European Commission after months of negotiations over how to carve out a role for the new carrier and make it independent of the struggling Alitalia.
The move to keep ITA separate from Alitalia is to ensure it would not be liable for paying back billions of euro the old carrier had received in state aid, Reuters reports.
The ministry confirmed that Alitalia will cease operations on 15 October, the same day that its slimmed-down successor ITA becomes “fully operational.”
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