It’s been a long time since I’ve written about Aliatlia and the dire straits it continues to find itself in. So it’s not surprising that the EU Commission has finally taken an interest with the airline as it investigates if the €900 million in aid to the airline qualifies as breaking the state aid rules.
Alitalia Embraer E-190 at London City Airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
According to Reuters , Italian authorities gave a total of 900 million euros to the carrier to ensure its financing when Etihad withdrew their support from the carrier from May 2017.
If the EU does order the €900 million to be recovered by the Italian Government – make no mistake – the airline will be at the wall faster than you can say “No”.
Cyprus Airlines suffered such a fate, as did Estonia Air after being ordered to return state aid – and not having the funds to operate upon their return to their respective governments.
Whilst Aliatlia won’t vanish tomorrow (investigations like this take time to happen), it’s a sign that the airline needs to hurry up with who it is trying to sell itself to.
Before the EU orders the money returned.
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I don’t see the Commission acting too aggressively anytime soon, they’re more likely to take it slow in the hopes that someone will buy Alitalia and then quietly let the issue fade away.
Given the ongoing political situation in Italy, the EU would want to avoid radical action that could lead to the quick collapse of Alitalia, since that would be likely to inflame anti-EU sentiment in Italy and give the Five-Star Movement and the League a reason to renew the talks toward a coalition government that collapsed earlier this week. Five Star swings wildly from Euroskeptic to pro-EU (everything about Italian politics seems to do that), and I think the EU would rather that if they are to be in government they were partnered with the Democratic Party to tamp down M5S’ Euroskeptic wing.
If we get to the point where there are no realistic suitors for Alitalia, then all bets are off, but that could be a while.