Atitech Finalizes Acquisition Of Alitalia’s Maintenance Business

Italian MRO provider Atitech has completed its acquisition of the maintenance assets of defunct airline Alitalia.

The Naples-based company finalized the deal on Monday (Nov. 1) following speculation about a potential acquisition throughout most of 2022. 

Atitech submitted its tender for Alitalia's MRO assets earlier this year, which enabled domestic and international investors to evaluate Alitalia’s maintenance business. 

The agreement will enable Atitech to grow its footprint in Italy through the addition of maintenance facilities in Rome, multiple domestic and overseas line stations and additional MRO capabilities. 

Atitech will take over four MRO hangars located at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, giving it with six lines for narrowbody aircraft maintenance and five lines for widebody maintenance, with an additional hangar for widebody services.

It will also take over shops for airframe-related components and have availability of an autoclave for component composite repairs, batteries, galley equipment, wheels and brakes, pneumatics and some avionics.

Earlier this year, Atitech’s President and CEO Gianni Lettieri told Aviation Week that among the company’s main aims was to bring international airline customers back to Rome. He stated its intention to grow engine and component capabilities to make the MRO provider a one-stop shop for aftermarket services.

Atitech says its European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 145 certification has been extended to include Alitalia’s capabilities for base maintenance, line maintenance and repair shops. The company’s EASA Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO) Part M certification has also been extended to include Alitalia CAMO PART M capabilities comprised of Airbus A320F, A330F, Boeing 777 and Embraer ERJ family aircraft.

Atitech will now take over domestic line stations previously operated by Alitalia. These locations include airports in Rome, Trieste, Florence, Olbia, Alghero, Lamezia and Reggio, which will continue servicing EASA-registered aircraft. 

Atitech says it plans to add more Italian line stations as soon as it gains the required certifications from non-European Union countries to support the relevant operators. These include locations at Brindisi, Bologna, Bari, Cagliari, Catania, Francoforte, Genova, Milan Linate and Malpensa airports, Napoli, Palermo, Pisa, Turin, Venezia and Verona.

Outside of Italy, it will also commence operations of Alitalia’s line station network once it has gained regulatory approvals. These locations are Paris Charles De Gaulle, Casablanca, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Osaka, Moscow, Munich, Tel Aviv and Tunis. 

Alitalia ceased operating as a carrier in October 2021 following several years of unprofitability, marking an end to more than 70 years of operation. Alitalia’s maintenance division had around 80 customers at the end of 2021, and its maintenance split in 2022 was estimated at 70% third-party customers and 30% Alitalia fleet.

Alitalia has been replaced by ITA Airways, a government-backed successor airline that is now Italy’s national flag carrier.