ITA Airways

airline	ITA Airways
iata	AZ
icao	ITY‡R1R‡
callsign	ITARROW
founded	November 11, 2020
commenced	October 15, 2021
aoc	IT.AOC.0194‡R2R‡
hubs	Rome–Fiumicino
focus cities	Milan–Linate
frequent flyer	Miles & More
alliance	SkyTeam (2021–2025) Star Alliance (2026–present)
fleet size	105
destinations	74‡R3R‡
parent	Government of Italy (via MEF) (59%) Lufthansa Group (41%)
headquarters	Rome, Italy
key people	Jörg Eberhart (CEO) Sandro Pappalardo (Chairman)
num employees	4,667 (2024)‡R4R‡
website	https://www.ita-airways.com

Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A., doing business as ITA Airways , is the flag carrier of Italy.[5] It is owned by the government of Italy, via the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Lufthansa Group.

The airline was founded in 2020 as a successor to the bankrupt Alitalia. The airline flies to over 70 scheduled domestic, European, and intercontinental destinations.[6] Its main hub is the Rome Fiumicino Airport and a focus city is Milan Linate Airport. In 2025, ITA Airways announced that the airline had ended its membership in SkyTeam[7] and later joined Star Alliance in April 2026, as part of the airline's integration into the Lufthansa Group.[8][9]

Background

Italy's flag carrier Alitalia had been in operation since 1946. It was owned by the Italian government until 2009 when it became a private company after reorganizing and merging with the bankrupt Italian airline Air One.[11] Alitalia reorganized again in 2015 after receiving an investment from Etihad Airways, with Air France-KLM already owning a minority stake.[12][13] With multiple failed attempts to make the airline profitable, the airline was placed under extraordinary administration in 2017 just days after Etihad Airways ended its support of Alitalia.[14] On 17 May 2017, after the government ruled out nationalizing the airline, it was officially put on the auction block.[15]

After multiple failed negotiations with Delta Air Lines, EasyJet, Italian railway company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and China Eastern Airlines, the Italian government took ownership of the airline in March 2020.[16][17] The government takeover was due in part to the belief the airline would not be able to survive the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its own.[18] On 10 October 2020, the Italian government signed a decree to allow the airline to reorganize as Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A.[19]

2020

On 28 October 2020, it was reported that ITA was expected to buy several assets from Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., including the brand and the flight codes of Alitalia and Alitalia CityLiner, the IATA ticketing code (055), the MilleMiglia frequent-flyer program, and airport slots at London Heathrow (68 weekly slots in summer and 65 in winter). The transaction was expected to cost €220 million.[20]

2021

However, on 8 January 2021, the European Commission sent a letter to the Italian Permanent Representative to the European Union calling for Italy to launch an "open, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional tender" to shed Alitalia assets.[21] The letter consisted of 62 requests for clarification, rejecting the idea that the old carrier could sell its assets to the new company with no open bidding. The letter stated that ITA should not retain the Alitalia brand since the brand is an emblematic indicator of continuity. The European Commission suggested that the combined aviation, ground handling, and maintenance businesses should be sold separately to a third party. It also suggested that slots must be sold, and that the MilleMiglia program in its entirety could not be transferred to the new corporate entity.

ITA Airways

Background

2020

2021

Corporate affairs

Business trends

Logo and livery

Ownership and corporate office

Frequent-flyer program

Destinations

Alliances

Codeshare agreements

Interline agreements

Fleet

Current fleet

Gallery

Fleet development

Former fleet

Accidents and incidents

See also

External links

References

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026