(ANSA) - Rome, April 23 - Alitalia will "initially" be 100% state owned but "then we will have to see", Transport Minister Stefano Patuanelli said Thursday.
He said the troubled former national flag carrier will be put into a newco starting up at the beginning of June amid the coronavirus emergency, and its fleet would not be limited but have "over 90 planes".
Bids for the chronically lossmaking Italian airline are currently being considered.
Alitalia has been the subject of successive bailouts and the European Commission is looking into its latest bridge loan.
Patuanelli added that it would be "difficult" to keep redundancies down to zero but jobs would be "safeguarded".
He said the government would keep injecting cash into the airline until the end of May, despite its constant losses.