Lufthansa to take control of ITA Airways in €325mn deal

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · May 12, 2026 · 291 words · By Doloresz Katanich

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What to know about Lufthansa to take control of ITA Airways in €325mn deal

Lufthansa, one of Europe's top airlines, announced Tuesday its intention to expand its current minority stake in Italy's ITA Airways to 90%.

Claims checked 7

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Lufthansa, one of Europe's top airlines, announced Tuesday its intention to expand its current minority stake in Italy's ITA Airways to 90%.

Why it matters

Europe's largest airline group, Lufthansa, announced Tuesday its intention to expand its current minority stake in Italy's ITA Airways to 90%.

Common ground

Lufthansa said it "will exercise its option to acquire a majority stake in ITA Airways in June of this year" at "a previously agreed purchase price of €325 million," the Lufthansa Group said.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Lufthansa to take control of ITA Airways in €325mn deal?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that the acquisition is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2027?
What happens next if the deal stalls, and who has the power to restart talks?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/05/12/lufthansa-to-take-majority-control-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 7 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 4

check_circle Corroborated 3

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Claim 1: “the acquisition is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2027.”

SINGLE SOURCE

One source mentions the closing is expected in the 'first [quarter/period]', but the specific year '2027' is not explicitly confirmed in the provided snippets.

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web search NEUTRAL — Lufthansa Group is to take a majority shareholding in Italian carrier ITA Airways, raising its interest to 90%. The group, which already holds 41% of ITA, says it will exercise an option by acquiring …
https://www.flightglobal.com/archive/2026/05/lufthansa-to-ce…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Further steps up to the complete takeover have been agreed with the Italian state. The purchase price for the second tranche is a fixed 325 million euros. The closing of the transaction is subject to …
https://www.bluewin.ch/en/news/lufthansa-wants-to-acquire-ma…

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web search NEUTRAL — The acquisition of the minority stake is subject to approval by the relevant authorities. Upon closing of this transaction, ITA Airways and Lufthansa Group are expected to immediately start their coop…
https://newsroom.lufthansagroup.com/en/lufthansa-group-reach…

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Claim 2: “the deal, which was approved by the company's board on Monday, remains subject to regulatory approvals in both the European Union and the United States.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While web search results confirm the deal is subject to regulatory approvals, there is no specific corroboration in the provided evidence regarding the board's approval occurring specifically on 'Monday'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Europa

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Deutsche Lufthansa AG (German: [ˌdɔʏtʃə ˈlʊfthanzaː ʔaːˈɡeː] ), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation holding company. Its principal airline, Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufth…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufthansa

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (Italian: Aeroporto internazionale di Roma-Fiumicino "Leonardo da Vinci") (IATA: FCO, ICAO: LIRF) is an international airport in Fiumicino, Italy…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome_Fiumicino_Airport

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “The seller is the Italian government, which had previously held 59% of the airline. It will now retain a 10% stake.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general information about the Italian language and does not contain any information regarding the Italian government's ownership percentage of ITA Airways.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Italian (italiano, pronounced [itaˈljaːno] ⓘ, or lingua italiana, pronounced [ˈliŋɡwa itaˈljaːna]) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the R…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Want to start speaking Italian? Thanks to these 83 basic Italian phrases, you'll be able to start speaking this beautiful language today!
https://storylearning.com/learn/italian/italian-tips/basic-i…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Tools for learning Italian online. Free vocabulary and grammar lessons. Children's stories translated into Italian. Great for beginner to intermediate learners.
https://www.theitalianexperiment.com/

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Claim 4: “Lufthansa... announced Tuesday its intention to expand its current minority stake in Italy's ITA Airways to 90%.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources (Investing.com and another news source) confirm that Lufthansa announced its intention to increase its stake in ITA Airways to 90%.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A. (pronounced [iˈtaːlja traˈspɔrto aˈɛːreo]), doing business as ITA Airways (pronounced [ˈiːta] EE-tah), is the flag carrier of Italy. It is owned by the government of Ital…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITA_Airways

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “Lufthansa said it "will exercise its option to acquire a majority stake in ITA Airways in June of this year" at "a previously agreed purchase price of €325 million,"”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm the exercise of an option to acquire a majority stake for a purchase price of €325 million.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Star Alliance is an airline alliance headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Founded on 14 May 1997, it was the world's first global airline alliance. Star Alliance has 26 member airlines that operate a …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Alliance

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “Lufthansa's share price was up by 2% early afternoon in Europe.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence contains general information about Lufthansa's history and current news, but does not mention a specific 2% share price increase in the early afternoon.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Lufthansa became the first European airline to introduce the Boeing 747 on regular passenger services in 1970. Seen here is a 747-200 at Düsseldorf Airport in 1985. Lufthansa operated the high-capacit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufthansa

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Welcome to Lufthansa on YouTube - where premium travel meets insider perspective. Explore our cabins across Economy, Premium Economy, Business, First Class, and Lufthansa Allegris.An error occurred wh…
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSeWBJOEs5ICRDy5Iw_mdFg

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Share. Lufthansa Group.Flights Cancelled around Europe as Spain, Germany, Poland and the UK Delay 2,981 and Ground 1,559 Flights Affecting easyJet, Lufthansa, KLM, Air Baltic and More Airlines at Barc…
https://news.google.com/topics/CAAqIQgKIhtDQkFTRGdvSUwyMHZNS…

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Claim 7: “Since acquiring a 41% minority stake in ITA Airways in January 2025, Lufthansa has reserved the right to gradually increase its ownership.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm Lufthansa's current holding is 41%. While the specific date 'January 2025' is not explicitly detailed in the snippets, the 41% figure is consistently reported across multiple sources.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.