Luigi Pacifico has resigned as chairman of the supervisory board of Italian flag carrier Alitalia.

Enrico Laghi will succeed Pacifico, while Alessandra Dal Verme, named by the shareholders' meeting a substitute auditor in June 2005, will become standing auditor.

Pacifico resigned with immediate effect after the state national audit committee, of which he is a board member, did not authorise him to continue his job at Alitalia until the end of the mandate, the carrier said in a statement. [Editor's note: According to media reports dated February 26, Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM showed concerns about Alitalia's accounts and expressed fears it might lose a legal dispute with Milan airport operator SEA, which is claiming 1.25 bln euro ($1.852 bln) damages from the airline. Media sources wrote that those concerns were casting a shadow over the determination of the Franco-Dutch airline, which is negotiating the purchase of a 49.9 pct stake from the Italian government, to acquire Alitalia.]