Milan (AFP)

Alitalia turns off its engines after 74 years of eventful flight to give free rein to a young start-up, ITA, born from its ashes, in an aviation market which is struggling to recover from the turbulence of the coronavirus pandemic.

Italia Trasporto Aereo's first flight was scheduled to take off Friday at 6:20 am (04:20 GMT) from Milan-Linate to Bari in the south of the country, seven hours after Alitalia's last landing the day before in Rome, from Cagliari.

Founded on May 5, 1947, Alitalia symbolized the economic success of Italy after the Second World War, becoming in the 1970s the seventh company in the world, before experiencing a long decline, which has worsened in recent years.

Its history merges with that of the country: the first hostesses arrived on board in 1950, Alitalia became the official carrier for the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 and crossed the one million passenger mark, Paul VI was the first pope to use it in 1964. and Antonella Celletti the first woman to fly one of its planes in 1989.

Pope Francis boards an Alitalia plane at Rome Fiumicino airport, May 12, 2017 Andreas SOLARO AFP / Archives

"It is with deep sadness that we are witnessing the end of Alitalia, it was our national flagship, symbol of the history of this country", says, moved, Laura Facchini, 47, hostess of the air at Alitalia for 20 years.

Like so many others, she applied in vain to be taken over by ITA as part of the first contingent of 2,800 people recruited this year.

5,750 employees are expected to be hired in 2022, out of a total of 10,500 Alitalia employees.

- Union rebellion -

"Many of us are desperate, because they no longer have a job. We were very attached to this company, very motivated, we always had a smile on our lips," testifies this national representative of the UGL Trasporto Aereo union.

The Alitalia unions are increasing the demonstrations, protesting against the "discount contracts" offered by ITA, with wage cuts reaching 20%, or even 40% for pilots, and the "cutting sale" of the company.

An Alitalia employee demonstrates near the Ministry of Economic Development in Rome, April 14, 2021 Andreas SOLARO AFP / Archives

If the aviation sector has been transferred to ITA, a 100% public company, ground services and maintenance will be sold separately, through tenders, as demanded by Brussels during tough negotiations with Rome .

The European Commission gave the green light in September for the start-up to take off and authorized the injection of 1.35 billion euros of public funds.

Noting "an economic discontinuity" between Alitalia and ITA, it exempted the latter from repaying the "illegal state aid" received by its predecessor.

Over the years, the Italian state has disbursed more than 13 billion euros to try to get the company afloat, between recapitalizations and bridging loans.

But nothing helped, Alitalia accumulated losses of 11.4 billion euros between 2000 and 2020.

Protesters carry a fake coffin decorated with the flag of the European Union and a model plane of Alitalia in Rome, April 14, 2021 Andreas SOLARO AFP / Archives

"The big mistake was not to invest in the lucrative long-haul market," Andrea Giuricin, transport economist at Bicocca University in Milan, told AFP.

All the more so as low cost carriers such as Ryanair and Easyjet were slashing prices on short-haul flights and the TGV reduced the journey time between Rome and Milan from 6 to 3 hours.

- Race to bankruptcy -

On the verge of bankruptcy, Alitalia was placed under public administration supervision in 2017, but its situation deteriorated further under the effect of the Covid-19 crisis which has grounded global airlines.

In 2020, Alitalia was losing two million euros per day, carrying only 6.3 million passengers, where Ryanair carried 52.1 million and Air France-KLM 34 million.

Planes from the Alitalia fleet on the tarmac at Rome-Fiumicino airport, November 1, 2013 Gabriel BOUYS AFP / Archives

With a fleet reduced by half, to 52 aircraft, including 7 large aircraft, ITA will have difficulty taking off, judge Andrea Giuricin.

"Resisting competition from the giants Air France-KLM and Lufthansa on international routes and from low-cost airlines on the domestic market is an impossible task".

Since Alitalia was placed under public supervision four years ago, the government has sought in vain for buyers.

In the past, Alitalia had nevertheless attracted suitors, such as Air France-KLM which submitted an offer in March 2008 but was met with the refusal of Silvio Berlusconi, who came to power shortly after, leading a campaign on the theme of the defense of "Italianness".

A sign outside the Alitalia management center in Rome, March 18, 2008 Filippo MONTEFORTE AFP / Archives

Saved in the wake of the elite of Italian employers, Alitalia had to be rescued in 2014 by the Emirati company Etihad, which acquired 49% of its capital, without however stopping its mad race towards bankruptcy.

© 2021 AFP