The slow disintegration of Alitalia, Italy’s national carrier, is set to spark a fierce auction for access to its Heathrow landing slots.

Airlines are understood to be lining up bids for the slots, which are likely to become available as part of Alitalia’s cost-cutting drive. Heathrow slots are so rare that they can be traded between airlines for up to £20 million for a single take-off and landing pair.

Aviation analysts said yesterday that the opportunity to pick up Heathrow slots would be of interest to the three main UK carriers – British Airways, bmi and Virgin Atlantic. American carriers, such as Delta and Continental, which are barred from operating out of Heathrow, are also seeking access ahead of a liberalisation of air travel rules next year.

Alitalia said on Thursday that it had lost €211 million (£146 million) in the first six months of this year and that its total debt is more than €1 billion. The airline plans to scale back the number of flights that it offers as part of a cost-cutting exercise. For example, it will reduce its Milan Malpensa services from 340 daily flights to less than 180.

Italian press reports said yesterday that services to Heathrow would be cut as part of this reduction. The airline operates about 14 flights a day from Rome and Milan’s two airports to Heathrow, but it is not known how many Heathrow services Alitalia could axe.

Alitalia’s representatives were not available for comment yesterday.

Time is money

—The most valuable Heathrow slots are those that offer an early morning landing and late afternoon take-off, as these are the most convenient for transatlantic flights

—The introduction of Open Skies next year will allow any European or US airline to operate out of Heathrow and a number of carriers are positioning themselves to take advantage of this change

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