The board of debt-ridden Alitalia threw in the towel on Friday after almost a decade of straight losses and government bail-outs, requesting bankruptcy protection in a move that will pave the way for the break-up of the Italian flag carrier and its proposed relaunch by a consortium of Italian investors.

Corrado Passera, chief executive of Intesa Sanpaolo, the bank advising Alitalia and a prospective shareholder in the new airline, confirmed the request had been formalised.