Relaunch of Alitalia delayed until after Christmas holidays

The relaunch of the Italian carrier Alitalia by a consortium of investors will be postponed until after Christmas, in order to prevent any travel disruptions during the peak travel period, the Italian Industry Minister announced on Tuesday.

The minister, Claudio Scajola, did not offer a specific date for the relaunch of the airline under the ownership of CAI, the investor consortium, but the carrier’s bankruptcy administrator has said that he will ensure that Alitalia is able to stay in the skies until 12 January.

“The start of the new Alitalia will be after the Christmas vacations to avoid the most congested holiday period,” Scajola said to reporters in Brussels.

He added: “I don’t see any major problems if it becomes operational after 10 to 15 days. With all the problems we’ve had, this is definitely the least of them.”

It was initially anticipated that the deal with CAI would be finalized by 30 November, but the airline’s administrator, Augusto Fantozzi, moved that date to 12 December, citing technical reasons.

An inside source said that CAI had been unable to deliver the 427 million euros in funds needed to close the deal before that date.

The Italian government has issued a decree permitting the asset transfer to CAI beyond 12 December, but stipulates that all costs, losses and risks associated with Alitalia will be borne by CAI in the interim.

Thanks to www.guardian.co.uk for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

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