Rome regained control of the loss-making carrier after 11 years of troubled private management and two failed restructuring attempts.

Chairman Francesco Caio was handed responsibility for audit, compliance and legal affairs. The board gave him and the CEO a mandate to form two separate units, for ground handling operations and maintenance.

"Today we enter the operative phase of ITA ... with the ambitious goal of creating a successful airline for the country," Lazzerini said in a statement.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti; editing by Valentina Za)