Rome, May 23 (IANS): Italy's flag carrier, Alitalia announced that it would restart operations starting June 3, when the country's reopens its borders to unrestricted travel from most parts of Europe.

The company said on Friday that the social distancing of 1 metre means flights using Airbus aircraft will fly at 33 per cent of full capacity while those on Boeing aircraft will fly at up to 50 per cent capacity, reports Xinhua news agency.

It will also schedule more time between flights in order to disinfect each aircraft before boarding of passengers for the next flight.

Alitalia said it would fly 30 routes from 25 airports, with the longest being the route between Rome and New York.

Italy will formally lift travel restrictions between it and other European countries in the Schengen area on June 3.

Alitalia is in the midst of a major relaunch under state control.

The Italian government announced last month it would take over the struggling carrier after it failed to attract a buyer.