Ryanair rejects Sardinia on municipal surtax

Ryanair rejects Sardinia. It invests in Abruzzo, Calabria, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Sicily and, Emilia Romagna but, on the island, for the summer season, it does not foresee any increase compared to last year. Everything in black and white in a note that the airline circulated, highlighting the tug-of-war with the Region.

"Ryanair has launched its operations for the summer of 2026 in Sardinia, which will not see significant growth, despite strong demand," the company wrote in a note. "Traffic on the island will remain flat compared to the summer of 2025 as the regressive municipal surtax continues to be imposed in Sardinia, a tax that penalises passengers, damages local tourism and employment and limits connectivity at low fares to Italian and European destinations for Sardinian citizens.

For this summer, Ryanair's operations include 3 aircraft in Cagliari, 73 routes in total and more than 4 million passengers. "Ryanair's operational for summer 2026 confirms our continued commitment to Sardinia, with 3 based aircraft (a $300 million investment), 73 routes and 4.5 million passengers - comments Fabrizio Francioni, Head of Communications Italy Ryanair -. However, traffic on the Island will remain flat compared to summer 2025, due to the presence of the municipal surtax. This regressive tax penalises passengers, damages tourism and employment, and limits the availability of affordable travel for Sardinian residents'. Not only that, there is another passage from the airline representative in which a comparison is made with other regions that have adopted a different policy.

'This is in stark contrast to other Italian regions such as Abruzzo, Calabria, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Sicily and Emilia Romagna, where the municipal surcharge has been abolished and, as a result, Ryanair has responded with transformative growth,' he adds, 'with more aircraft, new routes and increases in connectivity and tourism throughout the year.

Then an opening. "If the Region of Sardinia finally decided to eliminate the municipal surtax, Ryanair would respond immediately by bringing over 2 million additional passengers per year (+40% growth), 4 additional aircraft (an additional investment of USD 400 million), a new base in North Sardinia with 900 new local jobs, and new routes to Italia, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the Nordic countries. The airline's opening has one constraint, however. 'Ryanair remains ready and willing to grow in Sardinia,' Francioni concludes, 'provided that the Region decides to abolish the municipal surtax, so as to ensure greater connectivity, tourism, employment and economic development for the island.