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An Italian auditing watchdog has warned the country's state railways group, Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), that it needs to carefully consider the economic sustainability of its offer to help rescue national airline Alitalia. FS has teamed up with Delta as prospective investors in the Italian airline, but more private investment is required in order to save Alitalia. The Audit Court said on Friday that FS must activate "all suitable initiatives to protect the group's financial integrity, continuity and corporate development". FS is ready to take a 35% stake in Alitalia, the Industry Ministry said on Tuesday. A stake of 10-15% would be held by Delta Airlines and a further 15% by the Economy Ministry. A fourth investor is required. The administrators of Alitalia have set a July 15 deadline for the presentation of the bids.<br/>

The FAA is looking into whether Delta violated FAA rules about promoting safety at a time when President Donald Trump's pick to lead the agency was in charge of Delta's flight operations. The FAA investigation grew out of allegations by a Delta pilot that the airline retaliated against her for raising safety concerns. The AP obtained a copy of an FAA letter sent to the pilot's attorney detailing the investigation. The FAA declined to comment on the probe. Trump's nominee, Stephen Dickson, is under growing criticism from Senate Democrats over his initial failure to disclose his involvement in the case of the whistle-blowing pilot, who was grounded a few weeks after she raised safety issues to Dickson and other Delta executives. Dickson authorised grounding the pilot for a psychiatric evaluation. Outside doctors later cleared her, and she has since returned to flying at Delta. Dickson testified before the Senate Commerce Committee in May, and the committee is scheduled to vote on his nomination Wednesday. The FAA has been without a permanent administrator since January 2018.<br/>