Alitalia Files for Bankruptcy Protection

Italian airline Alitalia filed for bankruptcy protection today, a move long expected by market watchers, BBC News reports.

Alitalia has been losing money steadily for quite some time, and has not been able to find an Italian buyer.

According to the BBC, Alitalia now plans to split itself in half and sell its profitable operations to a group of investors. The remainder of the airline will probably be liquidated.