One hundred and nine (109) total connections to 26 countries, 68 international and 41 national routes, 12 new scheduled connections, 31 airlines operating at the airport: these are the numbers for the Summer season at Cagliari airport starting on 29 March.
According to Sogaer, 2025 closed with 5,254,433 total passengers and a 7% growth in the international segment compared to the previous year. This summer season, a total capacity of over 5 million seats is expected (+11% compared to 2025).
THE 12 NEW LINES: FROM FRANCE TO THE MIDDLE EAST
France: easyJet strengthens its presence by launching Bordeaux and Nice.
Italy: Aeroitalia is expanding significantly with seven new routes: Alghero and Olbia (for two months only), Bologna, Cuneo, Florence, Lamezia Terme, and Pisa. Ryanair is also launching a new destination with a flight to Forlì.
Austria: Eurowings launches new route to Salzburg.
Middle East: a new direct flight to Tel Aviv – hence Israel – operated by El Al (in partnership with Sun d'Or).
THE SEASON'S PROTAGONISTS
Despite the controversy surrounding the municipal surcharge, with the threat of abandoning Sardinia if the tax remains in place, Ryanair is strengthening its presence in Cagliari. In addition to the launch of the new route to Forlì, the Irish carrier's schedule at the airport includes the following confirmations.
International: Budapest, Carcassonne, Brussels Charleroi, Krakow, Karlsruhe-Baden, Dublin, Düsseldorf Weeze, Frankfurt Hahn, Gothenburg, Madrid, Malta, Nuremberg, Palma de Mallorca, Paris Beauvais, Porto, Poznan, Seville, London Stansted, Stockholm, Valencia, Vienna.
National teams: Bari, Bergamo, Bologna, Rome Ciampino, Catania, Cuneo, Forlì (new), Genoa, Milan Malpensa, Naples, Palermo, Parma, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Rimini, Turin, Trieste, Venice, and Verona.
Aeroitalia routes
Aeroitalia is also a key player in the summer season. The airline has achieved a record increase in capacity (+30%) thanks to a total capacity of approximately 1.5 million seats. This result is the result of the launch of seven new routes, the confirmation of the Catania flight, and the strengthening of Territorial Continuity, which will see peaks of 10 daily flights to Rome Fiumicino and 9 to Milan Linate.
Other companies
The Lufthansa Group, with its core brand, is offering an overall 37% increase on its Frankfurt and Munich routes. Among the Group's other carriers, low-cost carrier Eurowings is experiencing growth of nearly 40%, confirming its flights to Hamburg, Düsseldorf, and Stuttgart, in addition to the new Austrian route. Austrian Airlines is also experiencing double-digit growth, increasing capacity to Vienna by 23%. After excellent winter performances, Swiss carrier Edelweiss is renewing its Zurich service with an 11% increase in capacity.
In addition to the new French routes, easyJet confirms its network with connections to Basel, Geneva, Lyon, Milan Malpensa, Naples and Paris Orly, increasing its overall offering by 27% for Summer 2026.
In Northern Europe, KLM is doubling its presence with a 114% capacity increase on the Amsterdam route. The flight will be daily and operate from the end of March to the end of October. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is also strengthening its schedule, confirming its strong interest in the Cagliari airport by expanding its Copenhagen route with a 23% capacity increase.
Luxair also saw double-digit growth, strengthening its connections to Luxembourg by increasing the number of seats offered by 35%.
French carriers also saw notable growth in the capital: the national airline Air France increased its capacity to Paris Charles de Gaulle by 45%, while Transavia France recorded a 52% increase in seats offered to Paris Orly compared to last summer season.
Within the IAG Group, Iberia and Vueling consolidated their presence in the Spanish market, with capacity increases of 47% to Madrid and 5% to Barcelona respectively, while British Airways confirmed its connection to London Gatwick with a 2% increase.
Positive signals also came from Spanish carrier Volotea, which confirmed its domestic flights to Florence, Venice, and Verona , as well as its international route to Marseille , recording an overall growth of 24%.
Italian carriers are also strengthening their capacity , with Neos increasing its seats on sale by 13% at Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, and Verona airports, and Sky Alps confirming its Bolzano and Bern routes with a 10% increase in capacity.
The link with the Czech Republic is becoming increasingly stronger thanks to Smartwings, which operates five flights a week to Prague throughout the season.
THE CHARTER MARKET
Charter flights will add new connections to new destinations alongside traditional routes. The main cities served during the summer season include: Altenrhein, Hamburg, Athens, Bergamo, Copenhagen, Doha, Frankfurt, Geneva, Innsbruck, Istanbul, London Stansted, Malta, Milan Malpensa, Oslo, Parma, Stockholm Arlanda, Tallinn, Warsaw, Venice, Verona, Vitoria, and Zagreb.
(Unioneoline/E.Fr.)