The EU Commission has ruled that a €2019 million government loan granted to Alitalia in 400 was also illegal. The competition authorities ordered that Italy must reclaim the money. But the decision is more symbolic.

Alitalia filed for bankruptcy in May 2017 and was kept afloat until the fall of 2021 with the help of government loans granted in multiple tranches. According to the EU Commission, the successor Ita Airways is not considered the legal successor, so that it does not have to pay for Alitalia's debts.

Since the former flag carrier has been in liquidation for some time and numerous assets have already been sold, it is extremely unlikely that there will be sufficient funds to be able to fulfill the EU Commission's order. Competitors who have sued Alitalia for emergency loans have argued from the start that they suspect the Italian government plans to ensure that the insolvent carrier never has to repatriate the money.

The EU Commission has now ordered that the loan in the amount of 400 million euros must be reclaimed. In addition, a loan of EUR 2017 million was granted in 900. Alitalia has not been able to return this to this day either. Due to the insolvency proceedings, it can be assumed that the Italian taxpayer will never see the money again and that the decision of the EU Commission is therefore only of symbolic importance.