After a week of assumptions and possible scenarios, theshareholders' meeting and the board of directors of Alitalia they started the request for extraordinary administration. This is the first official step of the procedure commissioner.
Following the negative outcome of the referendum among the company's employees, Alitalia was unable to implement the planned recovery and restructuring plan. In fact, the Italian partners and Etihad had put on the table a loan of 2 billion euros for the business plan, focusing on large investments and a sharp reduction in structural costs.
The recapitalization and refinancing had been conditioned by the shareholders to a agreement with trade union bodies, which failed with the outcome of the referendum.
Il Cda, certifying the impossibility of reaching alternative and less burdensome solutions for the Company, decided unanimously to present the application for admission to the extraordinary administration procedure as established by law.
In the press release issued following the Shareholders' Meeting, Alitalia specified that there will be no changes to the scheduled schedule, with flights and operations that will not undergo any changes.
To days the government will appoint new commissioners – among which Luigi is in pole position Gubitosi – that they will have 180 days from the appointment to present a credible plan for the sale of the company.
Etihad's punctual comment which "communicates its regret for Alitalia's request for admission to Alitalia's Extraordinary Administration procedure, despite the significant investments made". These are the words used by James Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Etihad Aviation Group. “We have done everything in our power to support Alitalia as a minority shareholder – he continued -, but it is clear that the company needs a deep and large-scale restructuring to survive and grow in the future. Without the support of all stakeholders in this restructuring process - concluded Hogan - we will not be able to continue investing. For this reason, we support the decision of the Alitalia Board of Directors to request admission to extraordinary administration".
