Planes and airports, the double cross of an island called Sardinia. A strip of land forgotten in the middle of the sea, like no other region in Europe. Technically an island, reachable by ship, also requires eighteen hours of open sea, or by air, with at least an hour's flight. In Rome they only notice it in the summer, when political holidaymakers must disembark on the golden coasts of the isolated paradise. For the rest, between "basemen" of state companies infiltrated into the corners of power and careless tenants in the buildings that matter, Sardinia remains mistreated and discriminated against, seduced and abandoned. The case of the stellar fares reserved by airlines for tourists destined for the island has captured entire pages of the national and foreign media. A devastating advertising "investment", decisive for relocating tourists to alternative destinations and holidays with low cost transport, from Albania to Croatia. Many have shouted about mugging, profiteering and speculation. In reality, however, behind this announced "air" disaster, there is much more and much worse.
Throwing responsibilities
What emerges is a preconceived plan, with acts and measures that have had the obvious effect of a chain reaction, governed by a direction of strong powers and high-class political compromises. For some time, in Italian and Sardinian politics, the rule has been to cast responsibilities far away, to push away the idea that the cause of an isolated land is to be found in choices and decisions made, instead, at home. The first issue, at the basis of the disaster, is the management of air territorial continuity to and from Sardinia. For almost ten years, from 2012 to 2021, the so-called single fare for "residents" and "non-residents" remained in force on the routes connecting the Sardinian airports with Rome and Milan, a ticket with the same regulated price for Sardinian citizens, tourists , emigrants, workers.
Single rate & suicide
In 2021, with an unfortunate choice, the Sardinian Region decided, instead of extending it to 12 months, to cancel the single tariff to leave the companies free will on the tariffs intended for those who are "coded" as "non-residents". A suicide, from every point of view. A "crazy" decision both on a tourist level, making Sardinia unattractive even in the shoulder seasons, and on a social and economic level. That choice, already devastating in itself, was accompanied by the decision to drastically reduce the number of flights, the frequencies, even eight hours of total isolation of Sardinia, as well as a very serious reduction in airline seats. Many have attempted to shift the blame onto Europe, conveniently accused of having influenced the Region's choices. False, sadly not true.
