Alitalia (2017)

Alitalia's 2017 bankruptcy was its second - the Italian flag carrier had already failed in 2008. This time, after €7 billion in government and private bailouts since 2014, employees rejected a restructuring plan that would have cut 1,700 jobs. The vote sealed Alitalia's fate. The airline exemplified political capture: successive Italian governments couldn't let the flag carrier die, but couldn't force the changes needed for survival. Alitalia operated unprofitable routes for political reasons, employed more workers than needed, and competed against Ryanair with 1970s cost structures. A government-owned successor, ITA Airways, rose from the ashes in 2021.