\Alitalia operated its last flight on Thursday evening before passing the baton to Italy's new national airline, ITA, which begins operations on Friday.

The final flight, from Rome to Cagliari, brought to an end a 74-year history between Italy and the troubled flag carrier.

Alitalia has been operating in the Albanian market for years, but its weight has dropped significantly in recent years. From 32% of flights in 2015, the Italian air operator realized only 6% of flights in 2020, according to official data from Tirana International Airport.

The story began on 16 September 1946, a year after the war, when Alitalia was established as Aerolinee Italiane Internazionali, funded by the Italian government and British European Airways (BEA) in a 60/40 share arrangement.