Regional air services: following Aeroitalia’s withdrawal from Sardinian airspace, uncertainty takes hold
The case following the announcement by the airline’s chief executive at a meeting with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, ENAC and the regional government
Uncertainty is looming over the skies of Sardinia. This is because, from January, services under territorial continuity – that is, at a fixed, capped fare – on certain routes to Rome and Milan could be at risk. Aeroitalia, the airline that operates the majority of these services, has announced it will withdraw from territorial continuity routes from 2027 onwards due to the high cost of jet fuel.
The announcement
The announcement was made yesterday by the chief executive, Gaetano Intrieri, during talks with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, ENAC and the regional government. It did not come as a complete surprise, as the company had already highlighted a problem with the tender for the so-called ‘territorial continuity’ scheme back in March.
Price rises too high
That is to say, the sharp rise in fuel costs, which have increased by 150 per cent compared with February. Then came ENAC’s intervention. “In Sardinia, however, the process has stalled for reasons which, in our view, were more political than technical,” Intieri recalled. In May, the Autonomous Region of Sardinia undertook to allocate around 20 million euros to Aeroitalia and ITA Airways, to be distributed according to the operations carried out by each airline. At that meeting, no one raised any regulatory concerns regarding the disbursement of grants to the two airlines that ensure the island’s territorial continuity. Yet, by September, those funds had still not arrived. Today, nine months on from our initial reports, we are still waiting.”
The suspension from January
As far as the manager is concerned, there are now ‘no longer the conditions to continue operating’. ‘Let me make this clear,’ he added, ‘there will be no disruption to services for the public. However, we wish to agree with the Regional Government, in a spirit of cooperation, on an orderly conclusion to the relationship, which is now drawing to a close.”
The manager of the company, which employs around 800 people – almost half of whom are based in Sardinia – added: ‘Our aim will be to bring this phase to a swift conclusion, if possible by January 2027.’
