Alitalia (AZA, Rome Fiumicino) shareholder, Poste Italiane, has been cleared of breaching European state-aid rules regarding its participation in a EUR500 million rescue package engineered by the Italian government in 2013.

In its ruling, the European Commission said the Italian state-run postal service's EUR75 million investment in Alitalia was done under terms and conditions comparable to those of two private operators (a so-called pari passu transaction).

"Public interventions can be considered free of state aid within the meaning of EU rules when they are made on terms that a private operator would have accepted under market conditions (the market economy operator principle)," the EC said in a statement.

Given that neither of the two complainants - Ryanair, and the International Airlines Group (parent to British Airways, Iberia, and Vueling Airlines) - responded to a request for comments on the EC's findings, the case was closed.

The EUR500million aid package was an interim measure aimed at shoring up the struggling Italian carrier's finances while a multi-billion euro tie-up with Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) was finalized.