The official notification of the privatization operation of the national carrier ITA Airways is expected in the first half of November, of which the current sole shareholder, the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), has sold 41% of the capital to German aviation group Lufthansa. The communication to the European Competition Commission is a mandatory formal step to proceed smoothly in the negotiation.

The documentation should contain almost all the solutions necessary to avoid creating competition problems in the European aviation market: the sale of some airport slots in important airports (Frankfurt, Munich) or the disposal of some assets. If everything goes smoothly, the president of ITA Airways, Antonino Turicchi, explained that after the notification in December the last phase of negotiations with Brussels will begin.

According to what the Italian newspaper "il Corriere della Sera", the delay in communication is due to the numerous questions and requests for clarification that the European Commission offices sent, in the "pre-notification" phase, to Lufthansa, ITA and MEF. After a substantially break-even operating year in 2023, general director Andrea Benassi explained that a small profit is estimated in 2024, one year earlier than expected in the industrial plan.