As summer transitions to winter, Sardinia is losing flights and frequencies , with hundreds of fewer routes. The unions are alarmed , and are calling for a meeting with the Region to find out, "once and for all," the outcome of the "New Routes" initiative, the call for 67 flight options developed by the Department of Transport "to overcome seasonal limitations."
At Cagliari-Elmas Mameli Airport, during the seasonal peak , there were 109 daily connections, now there are 33: a loss of 69.72% . In Olbia , between the last Sunday in March and the last Saturday in October, the airport was connected to the world with a maximum of 120 daily flights, now down to 14, a decrease of 88.33% . At Alghero , the summer has pushed an operation that reached its peak of 36 routes, now reduced to seven, equal to -80.55%. The overall regional decline is significant: -79.53% .
As for flight frequencies, starting mid-January, the Cagliari-Bologna flight will no longer be guaranteed on Tuesdays; the Cagliari-Verona flight is scheduled five days a week . This is outside of territorial continuity. But there are also changes in the scope of discounted flights .
For Barbara Manca, the regional councilor for transport, the lack of airports "is the dynamics of the free market: airlines choose based on the economic weight of the destinations." Therefore, "if Sardinia is able to grow in all its sectors, not just tourism, then the demand for travel will grow and the market will respond.
Regarding the "New Routes" call for proposals, "an indirect lever" created "to stimulate connections twelve months a year," the councilor reassures: " We will communicate the results in a few days and are working towards a re-publication next year."
The future of aviation is also shrouded in doubt over a defect discovered in some engines produced by an American company, Pratt & Whitney, which prompted the , forcing the airlines to ground their operations.
