Its most successful slogan: " Airports shouldn't be sold, if anything they should be bought ". Words repeated ad nauseam since F2i, the investment fund that in recent years has bought the airports of Alghero and Olbia, is aiming straight for Cagliari. «I have been saying this since 2015», recalls Alberto Bertolotti, tourism entrepreneur (he has a bathing establishment in Chia) and president of Confcommercio Sud Sardegna, «but I see that now finally some consciences have shifted».
There is an ongoing battle for control of the Sardinian skies. Why?
«F2i is doing its job: trying to manage assets that are capable of producing profits for shareholders. The reason for so much interest is simple: according to estimates by Iata, Enac, Boeing and Airbus, in 2030 Italian air traffic could almost double, reaching 340 million passengers a year. Following these estimates, Cagliari can reach 10 million passengers, doubling revenues. That's why there's so much interest."
The investment fund already controls the Alghero and Olbia airports.
"If he completes his plan, at that point he could make a very simple leap: get his hands on the entire Sardinian tourist industry".
As?
«Through the airports the trend of the economy can be influenced, with the contraction or expansion of the connections. I'll give a trivial example: basically it would be enough to reduce air traffic for a couple of years to bring hotels, restaurants and beach resorts to their knees. Then, after the disaster, he could easily go shopping, buying hotel chains and other companies».
The complete interview on the Unione Sarda on newsstands
abbonati.unionesarda.it/Edicola