Italy's top administrative court ordered on Tuesday a new tender be held for Volare within 15 days, dismissing Alitalia's contested purchase of the bankrupt budget airline two years ago.
The court called on Volare's special administrator to organize another tender even though Alitalia won the first one in March 2006.
The ruling favors an appeal filed by Alitalia's domestic rival Air One, which had also wanted to buy Volare.
In a previous ruling, the court had annulled the 2006 tender, saying it did not follow the correct procedures.
Alitalia's purchase of Volare had marked its expansion into the low-cost market. It had offered EUR38 million euros for Volare, which collapsed two years earlier under the weight of heavy debts and losses.
