Aviation History
Italian aviation traces back to early 20th-century pioneers and gained international prominence through Italo Balbo's mass transatlantic formation flights in the 1930s, used as a showcase of Italian aeronautical prowess. Alitalia, founded in 1946, became Italy's flag carrier after a 1957 merger with rival LAI and carried the country into the jet age around 1960. The airline struggled financially for decades, a period marked also by the 2001 Linate Airport runway collision, Italy's worst aviation disaster. Alitalia filed for bankruptcy administration in 2017 and finally ceased operations in 2021, replaced by the newly formed state-backed ITA Airways, in which Germany's Lufthansa Group began acquiring a significant stake starting in 2025 as part of an ongoing consolidation of Italy's flag-carrier ownership.
Around 1909, Mario Calderara became recognized as the first Italian to pilot a powered aircraft, marking the start of Italian aviation activity.
General Italo Balbo led a large formation of Italian seaplanes on a transatlantic flight to Chicago in 1933, a major demonstration of Italy's aviation capability.
Alitalia was founded on 16 September 1946 as Aerolinee Italiane Internazionali, later becoming Italy's national flag carrier.
Alitalia merged with rival Italian carrier LAI (Linee Aeree Italiane) in 1957, consolidating Italy's international airline operations.
Around 1960 Alitalia introduced jet aircraft such as the Douglas DC-8 into its fleet, modernizing Italy's long-haul services.
In October 2001, a runway collision between two aircraft at Milan Linate Airport killed 118 people, becoming Italy's deadliest aviation accident.
After years of financial losses and repeated government bailouts, Alitalia entered extraordinary administration (bankruptcy protection) in May 2017.
Alitalia stopped flying in October 2021, with its operations succeeded by newly formed, state-owned ITA Airways.
Germany's Lufthansa Group completed acquisition of a 41% stake in ITA Airways around early 2025, with an option to move toward majority ownership in subsequent years.
Alitalia (historical) · ITA Airways · Ryanair (largest carrier by passengers in Italy) · easyJet · Neos · Air Italy (historical, ceased 2020)
General aviation history sources (Wikipedia, Britannica, contemporary airline news); the Lufthansa-ITA Airways ownership arrangement is a recent and still-evolving deal (majority-stake terms reported as being finalized into 2026) and should be checked against current reporting.