Ryanair should pursue its legitimate interests but not interfere in Sardinia's transport policies. This was the thrust of Councilor Barbara Manca 's response to Ryanair, which announced a reduction in flights to airports in the north of the island due to the only partial, and belated, reduction in the municipal surcharge, which the airline had requested be completely abolished.
According to Todde, a member of the Regional Council, "it's necessary to bring the discussion back to the real numbers and, above all, to the objectives the Region intends to pursue through the use of public resources. Our priority is to serve the general interests of citizens and the balanced development of the region."
The reductions announced by the Irish airline "must be interpreted in their true sense. Alghero will see a 15% reduction in capacity, but all current routes will be maintained. Only one route will be eliminated from Olbia, while Cagliari will see increased capacity, with a new destination and increases on particularly popular routes, even during the winter, such as Milan Malpensa and Venice. Therefore, we are not seeing a general reduction in Ryanair's flights to Sardinia, but rather a reorganization of the airline's operations."
After attempting to downplay the significance of the opposing side's stance, Manca continued: "Our choice has always been clear, even in our numerous discussions with Ryanair: Sardinia doesn't need to use public funds to further incentivize flights during the summer months. Instead, we need more connections during the winter and shoulder months. This is why we have chosen to concentrate our investments in the winter months."
The resources (€18.2 million) were allocated over two months ago based on political guidance and technical work: "We therefore find it strange that the reductions in winter operations are attributed to the failure to abolish the additional tax during the summer months, even when the Region has decided to financially support connections during the winter months."
Manca calls the government into question, saying, "It must not leave the Regions alone to negotiate with carriers." He adds, "We are willing to engage with all companies and create growth opportunities, but we cannot accept that a private operator should question the mobility policies of a public entity such as territorial continuity, the only tool currently capable of guaranteeing, with facts and figures in hand, the certainty of travel for Sardinians."
The PSDA and privatization
Antonio Moro , president of the PSDA, Manca's predecessor at Transport, also weighed in on the matter. He also shed light on the management of Sardinian airports and the intention to privatize Cagliari airport as well: "The cuts announced by Ryanair go beyond the decision itself, which is already serious: 15 percent fewer flights from Fertilia airport and half as many to Olbia."
The key, for Moro, is where those cuts are and aren't there: "Because the cuts affect the two privately operated airports. And at the only public airport, Cagliari, flights are being increased: more flights to Malpensa and Venice, and a new route to Forlì."
Ryanair is justifying the cuts by the failure to eliminate the boarding tax. But that tax isn't just a problem for Alghero and Olbia: it's a common condition for all three Sardinian airports. Same region, same surcharge, same regulatory framework. Yet two private airports are losing flights, while the public one is gaining them.
If the variable were the tax, "the three airports should react the same way. That doesn't happen. The variable, then, is something else: management.
However, one responsibility for that tax must be clearly stated: the failure to abolish the additional boarding fee falls on the Regional Council and the majority that supports it."
Truzzu's lunge
"It would be easy today to say, 'We told you so.' That would be like shooting the Red Cross, and that's not our intention. We don't rejoice in the suffering of the Sardinians, but President Todde and her Transport Councilor Barbara Manca must take political and economic responsibility for what happened." Harsh words were spoken by the regional group leader of the Brothers of Italy party, Paolo Truzzu, at the end of this morning's Ryanair press conference. The former mayor of Cagliari recalled that his party had called for the abolition of the boarding tax "immediately, and only after two years had the Region provided a partial response, perhaps to 'sop up' us, but by abolishing the surcharge exclusively during the low season between November and March, the region has delayed a measure necessary to restore the island's competitiveness."
The defense of the M5s
The numbers released by the company itself put the alarm into perspective, according to Roberto Li Gioi, regional councilor for the Five Star Movement and president of the Transport Commission. The Five Star Movement member denounces a "specious and propagandistic communication on flight cuts," aimed at pressuring the Region to eliminate the airport surcharge, even during the summer.
"Sardinia doesn't need additional connections during the summer. We've invested 11 million euros for the winter season alone," Li Gioi emphasizes, noting that "these are significant resources, comparable to those other regions invest throughout the year."
"We are deeply convinced that this investment will allow us to concretely assess the impact of our choices," he maintains. "Sardinia is growing in attractiveness, in terms of the number of visitors, in terms of airlines, in economic terms and in terms of traffic, in increasing connections with the world, and in developing a different strategy to also combat overtourism by investing in the winter season," concludes Li Gioi.