Alitalia, which has made a profit only a few times in its 70-year history, was put under special administration last year after staff rejected a plan to cut jobs and salaries.

Germany's Lufthansa (>> Lufthansa Group), British low-cost carrier easyJet (>> easyJet) and U.S. private equity fund Cerberus are among companies that have expressed an interest in Alitalia.

Rome originally planned to enter exclusive talks with one of the parties by mid-January in the hope to strike a deal before national elections due March 4.

The two ministers asked the commissioners managing Alitalia to work quickly on a sale once a solid and credible offer is made.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Isla Binnie)

Stocks treated in this article : Lufthansa Group, easyJet