Ryanair, the first airline in Italy with 65 million passengers

Ryanair confirms its position as Italy's number one airline with 65 million passengers and is preparing for a growing winter season at Milan's airports (Malpensa and Orio Al Serio), where with its 31 aircraft based there (+3), it can count on 120 routes, five more than last year. "This major investment in Milan, around $3.1 billion, is aimed at reaching 19 million passengers and supporting our long-term strategy for the growth of Italy's regional airports," said the carrier's CEO Eddie Willson in Milan to present the winter season. Hence the Irish manager's renewed appeal to the Italian government to eliminate the municipal tax at all airports in exchange for 42 more planes based in Italy out of the 106 already present and 20 million passengers for an investment, according to Ryanair's calculations, of 4 billion dollars.

The proposal was presented a year ago by the low-cost airline to the government, but so far the only sign that has arrived is an increase in the surcharge for flights to Rome Fiumicino. A decision that triggered the fury of chairman Michael O'Leary, who descended on the capital to threaten the cancellation of one plane out of the 16 based in Rome. The Italian market "is resilient and very strong", said Willson: while the North continues to grow, the stopper now is the Roman airports, Ciampino and Fiumicino, the former with overflight limits due to noise pollution, the latter due to the increase in the municipal surtax. 'Rome is not growing, the costs are too high: between airport taxes and the municipal surtax we pay 50 euro per passenger, too much for our fares,' he added. Away then goes one aircraft out of the 16 based in the capital. 'The regions are asking us for connections to Rome because Lufthansa is not making Ita Airways grow on the capital. I think it is obvious that if you reduce taxes you get more passengers, we have already done that in the regions. The surtax makes investment more difficult and less competitive'.

From Abruzzo to Calabria, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Sicily, the low cost airline has strengthened its presence where the surtax has been reduced or cancelled. Other regions could be added to the list, such as Emilia-Romagna, whose administration has said it is willing to take on the municipal surtax for the airports of Parma, Rimini and Forlì: 'We are talking with the local airports and awaiting developments'. The other front is Sicily where from January 2026 additional charges will be abolished for the airports of Comiso, Lampedusa, Pantelleria and Trapani, where the low cost airline has already based two aircraft. Patchy decisions that, without a national strategy, risk putting airports in competition with each other to the detriment of organic growth.