According to EU rules, 400 million euros in state aid granted by Italy in 2019 to Alitalia Società Aerea Italiana SpA and its wholly owned subsidiary, Alitalia CityLiner SpA, is illegal. This is what the European Commission wrote yesterday, reiterating that Italy must recover the full amount, compounded by interest, from Alitalia. In May 2017, Alitalia had been placed in special insolvency proceedings under Italian bankruptcy law, while still continuing to operate as an airline. In order to keep Alitalia operational, in 2017 and 2019, the Italian state had granted loans to the company in the amount of 900 million euros and 400 million euros, respectively. These loans have never been repaid. In 2018, the European Commission had launched a formal investigation into whether the two loans granted in 2017 (those totaling 900 million euros) complied with EU state aid rules. In February 2020, a formal investigation had also been launched on the additional 400 million euros granted in 2019. In September 2021, Brussels had concluded that the first loan was illegal, and today comes the same assessment on the second amount. According to the Commission, Italy did not behave as a private operator would have done, as it did not assess in advance the likelihood of repayment of the loans, plus interest, but sought only to ensure the continuity of Alitalia's domestic and international flight service. In addition, the Commission found that the loan could not be approved as rescue aid under the rescue and restructuring aid guidelines. Particularly, Alitalia had already benefited from previous aid, namely the two loans granted in 2017. Therefore, the new loan would be in violation of the one-off requirement of the guidelines in this regard. On this basis today, the Commission concluded that no private investor would have granted the loan to the company at the time and that the loan gave Alitalia an unfair economic advantage over its competitors on domestic, European and global routes, which constituted incompatible state aid. Italy must now recover the unlawful state aid of 400 million euros plus interest from Alitalia. The Commission already found in September 2021 that ITA Airways, which had acquired part of Alitalia's assets in 2021, is not Alitalia's economic successor and therefore does not have to repay the illegal state aid received by Alitalia.