An administrative court in Lazio province reviewing a lawsuit filed last month by Alitalia's domestic rival Air One asked groups cited in the suit to hold off on any actions that change the current state of play until the Feb 20 hearing.

That would imply that Air France-KLM, which began exclusive talks to buy Alitalia last month, cannot conclude a sale before that date and Air One, which wants to make a fresh bid for the airline, cannot present the new offer until then.

Air One's previous offer was rejected by the outgoing Italian government in favour of the one made by Air France-KLM, whose talks with the loss-making airline are expected to last until mid-March.

With Italians set to go back to the polls in mid-April after the collapse of Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government last month, doubts have risen about whether the sale to Air France-KLM will go through.

Mr Prodi's government launched Alitalia's sale in December 2006 by putting up for sale the Italian state's 49.9 per cent stake in the carrier.

Mr Prodi's Infrastructure Minister Antonio Di Pietro on Tuesday said it would be inappropriate for a fallen government to approve a deal on Alitalia.

'Even if correct from a formal point of view, I believe it would be inappropriate that an operation of such importance would be pushed through by a government that is expiring, or in fact, expired,' Mr Di Pietro told reporters at an event in Milan.

Air France-KLM had snubbed the first sale process, saying it would only be interested if Alitalia's business turned around.

But after Alitalia announced a drastic 'survival' plan of job cuts and flight reductions, Air France-KLM officially joined the sale process in December 2007.

Alitalia remains attractive despite its losses because of the lucrative Milan to Rome route, where it holds a near monopoly. -- REUTERS