Italian airline ITA Airways has been confirmed as a new member of the Lufthansa Group after regulatory hurdles were overcome.
ITA Airways, the successor airline to bankrupt Alitalia, becomes the German airline group’s fifth network carrier.
The transaction, which includes a €325 million capital increase in ITA, sees Lufthansa take a 41% stake with the remaining 59% “initially” being held by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).
“Options for the acquisition of the remaining shares in ITA Airways have been agreed between the Lufthansa Group and MEF and can be exercised from this year,” a statement said.
The deal was originally struck in May 2023, with the European Commission approving approving competition remedies in November last year.
EasyJet is to base five aircraft at Milan Linate and three at Rome Fiumicino, creating around 300 jobs across the two bases, as a result of the ruling.
Other competition authorities outside the EU have since also given their approval to the Lufthansa-ITA tie-up.
ITA operates to almost 70 destinations from Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate airports and carried around 18 million passengers in 2024 with a fleet that includes 22 long-haul Airbus A350s and A330s.
Italy is already Lufthansa Group’s second most important international market after the US, outside the existing home markets of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium.
Group chief executive Carsten Spohr said: “We are proud to finally welcome ITA Airways to the Lufthansa Group. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this, especially in Rome, Brussels, Berlin and Frankfurt.
“The ITA Airways team has written an impressive success story in recent years and, with great energy, passion and expertise, has built an airline that is already the pride of an entire nation.
“We look forward to continuing this success story of ITA Airways together. With our investment, we will now strengthen the Italian and European aviation market and the position of the Lufthansa Group as number one in Europe.
“Our joint passengers worldwide will benefit from improved offers and optimised connections as early as this upcoming summer flight schedule.”
Further details are due to be outlined at a press conference in Rome on February 3.