Alitalia still sails on sight

Salaries halved, suppliers on credit, little cash on hand and an uphill negotiation with the European Commission. The situation of Alitalia is becoming more and more delicate and from the meeting this afternoon between the extraordinary commissioners and the unions, the feeling is that we are now navigating on sight. On the one hand, the recurring problem of the constantly emptied cash register. The latest provision of Covid refreshments was authorized last week, but instead of the 55 million envisaged by the government, Commissioner Margrethe Vestager gave the green light to 24.7 million, corresponding to the losses recorded by the company due to the limitations imposed by the pandemic. A figure that will be used sparingly. Hence the decision of the extraordinary commissioners to pay the salaries of March at 50 percent. The rest should cover the INPS by disbursing the layoffs, but the unions ask that the company be the one to advance the quota. On the other hand, negotiations with the European Commission stalled, after the Minister of Economic Development on Monday evening Giancarlo Giorgetti he spoke of a “change of strategy” to “allow the business continuity of the company company”.