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Milan • Italy's struggling flagship airline, Alitalia, headed toward its second period of receivership in a decade on Tuesday with the board of directors saying it had no choice after workers overwhelmingly rejected a relaunch plan that would have unlocked new investments.
The board expressed "deep regret" that workers had voted against the government-brokered relaunch plan, which had softened planned job and salary cuts.
It said the outcome forced a reorganization by making it impossible to unlock the planned 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in investments from both managing shareholder Etihad and a consortium of Italian investors, led by the country's two main banks, that control a 51-percent stake.
Italy's economic development minister has said that the period of extraordinary administration, which is designed to help companies avoid failure, is expected to last about six months, during which a buyer would be sought.
The treasury ministry was expected to come up with terms of a bridge loan to keep the airline operational during the period, which includes the lucrative summer tourism season.
Alitalia, which is still controlled by Etihad, has continued to emphasize that flights were operating on schedule.
The government was expected to meet as early as Tuesday to name a new administrator.
Alitalia filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008 when it was still state-owned, but avoided liquidation when then-Premier Silvio Berlusconi organized a group of Italian investors to step in during a privatization process. Etihad took a 49-percent stake in 2014.