While waiting to understand if Volotea will participate in the bridge tender for summer flights in territorial continuity to and from Sardinia, the Spanish low-cost airline is again focusing on Italy and, for the next 12 months, with over 4.5 million of seats (+ 18% vs 2019) offered for sale.

After carrying 3 million passengers, Volotea plans to launch 15 new routes and operate around 27,500 flights with 84% of its offer dedicated to routes to and from the islands.

CONTINUITY NODE - In October 2021 Volotea was awarded the tender for the management until May of flights in territorial continuity to and from Sardinia, but the tender could be called into question by the decision of the Cagliari TAR on the appeals presented for the first call published by the Region and not assigned to the two participants - Volotea and Ita - due to lack of requirements. The same low-cost airline and Ita had immediately challenged the exclusion by addressing the administrative judges who are physically writing the sentences.

Some decisions have already been taken: the former Alitalia for the routes between Alghero and Olbia and Rome and Milan and the connection between Cagliari and Milan, has presented an application for waiver and the TAR has declared the appeals inadmissible "for supervening lack of interest". For Ita, therefore, only the appeal on the Cagliari-Rome section remains standing, while for Volotea all those presented.

In the meantime, the low cost carrier recalls that during the last month it took to the track with a total of 1,133 flights to and from Sardinia, totaling a punctuality rate (OTP15) equal to 92.7% in its 3 Sardinian bases: " this means that 1,051 flights out of 1,133 were operated with the utmost punctuality ".

"We hope that, starting from Easter, the sector can begin to overcome the effects of the fifth wave and that there will be a gradual growth in demand until the summer season, from April to October, when we estimate to operate with 41% capacity. more than in 2019 ", commented Carlos Muñoz, president and founder of Volotea.

(Unioneonline / vl)