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Italy’s ITA Airways has formally joined Star Alliance, a move that significantly widens global connectivity and unlocks new loyalty and lounge benefits for travelers using the carrier’s growing network from Rome and Milan.
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From SkyTeam Exit to Full Star Alliance Membership
ITA Airways completed its transition into Star Alliance on 1 April 2026, following a multiyear shift in alliances and ownership changes. The Italian carrier, which replaced Alitalia as the country’s flag airline, exited the SkyTeam alliance after the European Commission approved Lufthansa Group’s acquisition of a significant stake and a new strategic direction for the Rome based airline.
According to publicly available alliance overviews, ITA Airways is now listed as the 26th member of Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance by daily flights and country coverage. The move aligns ITA with Lufthansa Group network airlines and positions Rome Fiumicino as a strengthened Southern European hub connected to more than 1,150 destinations worldwide through Star Alliance partners.
Earlier documentation from Lufthansa Group and ITA pointed to an early 2026 target for full integration, with status benefit harmonization and code sharing ramping up through 2025. The formal entry on 1 April 2026 marks the completion of this integration phase and the start of ITA’s role as Italy’s Star Alliance carrier.
What Changes for Global Travellers
For passengers, ITA’s Star Alliance membership primarily translates into broader through-ticketing, better coordinated schedules and improved disruption handling across the alliance network. Travellers can now book itineraries that combine ITA-operated flights with partner services under a single ticket, benefiting from aligned minimum connection times and coordinated rebooking policies where alliance agreements apply.
Publicly available information on Star Alliance’s combined network indicates that the alliance now offers more than 18,000 daily flights across almost 200 countries, with ITA plugging key Italian and Mediterranean destinations into this system. Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate, already served by numerous Star Alliance members, become more seamlessly integrated hubs for connections between Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.
Travel trade coverage notes that ITA’s membership also enhances reciprocal recognition of frequent flyer status, priority services and baggage handling among member airlines. This is particularly relevant for travellers using airlines such as Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, United, Air Canada and other Star Alliance carriers to connect to or from Italy on ITA flights.
Loyalty: Volare and Miles & More Integration
On the loyalty side, ITA had already begun reshaping its frequent flyer proposition ahead of the alliance switch. The airline joined Lufthansa Group’s Miles & More programme, enabling passengers to earn and redeem miles on ITA-operated flights within one of Europe’s largest loyalty ecosystems. According to ITA’s partnership pages, travellers can accrue miles and status points on ITA services and redeem them for flights, upgrades and other awards across participating airlines.
Reports from loyalty industry analysis indicate that this integration is layered on top of ITA’s own Volare programme, which continues to function as the airline’s branded scheme while being closely linked to Miles & More. Status customers at higher tiers benefit from enhanced mileage accrual, extended mileage validity and additional on-the-ground privileges.
Following ITA’s formal Star Alliance entry, alliance-level benefits are expected to align more closely with Volare and Miles & More status tiers, including Star Alliance Silver and Gold recognition. For frequent travellers who regularly connect between Italy and other Star Alliance hubs, this can simplify elite qualification strategies and concentrate benefits such as upgrades, preferred seating and baggage advantages within a single loyalty framework.
Lounge Access and Airport Experience
ITA’s integration into Star Alliance also reshapes lounge access at key Italian airports. ITA operates branded lounges at Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate, among others, and its lounge access policy now intersects with alliance-wide entitlements. Information on ITA’s lounge pages shows that access rules incorporate Star Alliance Gold recognition, as well as ITA-specific premium and co-branded card products.
For Star Alliance Gold customers travelling on eligible ITA or Star Alliance-operated flights, lounge entry at ITA facilities and contracted lounges becomes part of the wider alliance network of more than 1,000 lounges globally. This is particularly relevant at Rome Fiumicino’s Piazza di Spagna lounge, which hosted the ceremony marking ITA’s alliance entry, underlining the airport’s role as a central Star Alliance hub in Southern Europe.
Lufthansa Group had already begun harmonizing status benefits before full alliance integration, allowing some premium customers to access ITA lounges and vice versa. With the formal Star Alliance membership now in place, published guidance indicates a more consistent experience across check in, boarding priority and lounge access, especially for customers holding Miles & More Frequent Traveller, Senator or HON Circle status and equivalent tiers in partner programmes.
Strategic Impact for Italy and the Star Alliance Network
Strategically, ITA’s arrival in Star Alliance fills an important gap in the alliance’s European footprint. Since the end of Alitalia, Italy lacked a home carrier within Star Alliance, limiting seamless alliance branded connectivity to and from one of Europe’s largest outbound and inbound travel markets. ITA’s membership restores that presence, giving Star Alliance a stronger position on key routes linking Italy with North America, Asia and the rest of Europe.
Lufthansa Group communications describe ITA as the Group’s fifth network airline, following Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines. This provides opportunities for more coordinated scheduling, joint ventures and shared commercial initiatives, including the Europe Japan joint venture which ITA is scheduled to join with All Nippon Airways and other partners.
For travellers, the strategic shift is most visible in the form of expanded choice. More long haul services from Rome and Milan, additional codeshare routes and a broader range of connection options within Star Alliance make it easier to build complex itineraries while retaining alliance benefits. Travel industry observers point out that this may increase competitive pressure on rival alliances serving Italy, particularly on transatlantic and Northern Europe routes.
Over time, ITA’s integration into Star Alliance and Lufthansa Group is expected to influence aircraft deployment, cabin products and route planning. For now, the immediate effect is a larger, more coherent network for passengers whose journeys begin, end or connect in Italy, and a clearer path to elite recognition and lounge access across one of the world’s most extensive airline alliances.
Lufthansa Group newsroom: ITA Airways Joins Star Alliance
Lufthansa Group business portal: ITA Airways and Star Alliance membership