EU executive probes state loan for Alitalia

EU anti-trust regulators have opened an investigation to establish whether a massive rescue loan to struggling Italian carrier Alitalia was illegal. Brussels said it had received a number of complaints. Alitalia went into government-controlled administration last year and received a public loan of E900m to keep the carrier afloat after staff in 2017 rejected a last-ditch cost-cutting plan. "The Commission has the duty to make sure that loans given to companies by member states are in line with EU rules on state aid," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said, noting that Brussels had received several complaints from a number of competing airlines. Vestager indicated the EU executive was acting on suspicion that the granted loan may be used longer than the six months allowed under EU rules. Italian Industry Minister Carlo Calenda said such fears were unfounded, insisting that Alitalia had barely used the state loan so far.<br/>