The near-bankrupt Italian airline Alitalia has sold some of its landing slots at London's Heathrow airport for record prices, the Financial Times has reported.
The struggling carrier revealed on Monday that it had agreed to sell almost one quarter of its Heathrow landing slots for about €92m.
The FT, which did not cite its source, reported that one pair of slots had been sold for a record £30m (€41m), more than double the price two years ago.
The paper added that the landing slots were sold to Continental Airlines, US Airways and British Airways.
Alitalia, beset by high operating costs and fierce competition from budget rivals, loses about €1m a day.
Last week, management at the carrier threw their weight behind a rescue takeover plan proposed by Air France-KLM. The Italian government owns a 49.9% stake in Alitalia and is expected to come to a decision on the future of the company next month.
