EU Commission expresses doubts over Alitalia loan

BRUSSELS, April 24 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Thursday it would tell Italy in the next few days that it had doubts over the legality of Rome's plan to lend 300 million euros ($473 million) to struggling airline Alitalia AZPIa.MI.

The Italian government decided on Tuesday to give Alitalia the loan to keep it flying until a new buyer is found, after Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) pulled out of a deal this week.

"We have doubts on the nature of the measure and we want to understand if this is a commercial operation as the Italian authorities claim," a Commission spokesman told a regular briefing.

"It's already clear in the next couple of days our services will send a letter to them informing them of doubts we have about these measures and requiring further clarification," he added.

Alitalia bleeds more than a million euros a day and the loan is expected to stave off bankruptcy, but the executive European Commission allows state aid to companies only under strict conditions. (Reporting by Pete Harrison)