Alitalia: Italy’s bankrupt national airline is being put up for sale .

As was widely expected, on Tuesday Italy’s national carrier Alitalia filed for its second bankruptcy in 9 years, after its board decided to formally ask the ministry of economic development to put the money-losing carrier, partly owned by UAE’s Etihad, under special administration after workers rejected its latest rescue plan meant to unlock much-needed financing.

As discussed previously, a majority of the company’s workers last week voted against a restructuring plan that envisaged cuts to jobs and salaries, making it impossible for the loss-making airline to secure funds to keep its aircraft flying. In retrospect, many more workers will now lost not only much of their compensation but also their jobs, even if for the time being the airline’s flight schedule would remain unchanged.

Once Alitalia is put under administration, the Rome government will appoint one or several commissioners who will assess whether it can be overhauled – either as a standalone company or through a partial or total sale – or should be wound up.

Quoted by Reuters, James Hogan, the CEO of Etihad Airways, which bought into Alitalia during the latest restructuring in 2014, said the Italian airline required “fundamental and far-reaching restructuring to survive and grow in future”.

“Without the support of all stakeholders for that restructuring, we are not prepared to continue to invest,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the carrier is losing about €1 million ($1.1 million) a day and without government support risks running out of cash by the middle of May. The government has already thrown it a short-term lifeline, a bridging loan of up to 400 million euros to see it through the bankruptcy process.

Courtesy : zero hedge