Alitalia to file for administration as turnaround plan fails

Poor Alitalia. It looks (again) as if the end might be nigh for the carrier which enjoys local support, but chronic losses. It has started bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in a decade after workers rejected its plans to cut jobs.

Shareholders, which include Etihad with a 49% stake, have voted unanimously to file for special administration, and the government must provide temporary funds to keep it going until it either closes its doors, or finds away to continue. It’s a political nightmare, though, with the government unlikely to want it to fail. It has 12,500 employees.