On Tuesday, Alitalia, the ailing Italian carrier, said that it posted a 2007 loss of 495 million euros and said once again that it needed fresh capital quickly to keep operating. The decision of the government is still waiting about possible funding for the airlines.

In a statement, the Italian carrier said that the loss was narrower than a loss of about 627 million euros in the year-earlier period, after a 197 million euros record on its fleet pulled the results down, but it was still wider than 363.9 million euros pre-tax loss for the year 2007 revealed in the month of February.

The carrier's finances have been falling rapidly, making it a matter of concern that whether it can prevent bankruptcy following an intended takeover by Air France-KLM fell apart.

The carrier previously on Tuesday received a badly-needed help from the government, which turned an emergency loan of 300 million euros into an asset on the carrier's books.

The decision of the government was designed to secure the grant of auditors for the carrier's unstable finances.

The carrier's board, which held a meeting for a second consecutive day on Tuesday to pass its 2007 accounts, said that the emergency loan had made the company's liquidity better, but it required fresh capital quickly.

Since the failure of the Air France-KLM's arrangement previously this year, the carrier's accounts have deteriorated due to falling bookings, rising debt and high fuel costs.