Alitalia has announced it will not renew its partnership and joint venture agreements with Air France-KLM from 2017.
The Italian carrier announced its intention yesterday. The agreements were first signed in 2009 and are due to expire in January 2017.
Chief executive Silvano Cassano blamed them for making it difficult for Alitalia to restructure its networks and achieve sustainability.
He said in a statement: "These agreements are no longer beneficial, either commercially or strategically, to the new Alitalia and its ambitious turnaround plan.
"They were negotiated when Alitalia was in a very different position, with the result that the agreements in their current forms favour the other party."
Cassano added: "Alitalia is open to further discussions to achieve a mutually acceptable solution."
Last year, Alitalia signed a deal with Etihad that saw the Gulf carrier take a 49 per cent stake in the struggling Italian airline.