Resurrected Italian carrier Alitalia is re-establishing itself in the cargo market due in a large part to its 25 per cent owner, the Air France-KLM group. Alitalia’s chief executive Rocco Sabelli said Air France-KLM is considering a multi-hub strategy based on Paris Charles de Gaulle in France, Amsterdam Schiphol in Netherlands and Malpensa in Italy.

Alitalia already has belly freight capacity on long-haul passenger flights from Malpensa to New York, USA, Tokyo, Japan and São Paulo, Brazil and could add services to Miami, USA, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Shanghai, China if the tri-hub strategy is adopted, Sabelli said.