Air Dolomiti announced in a press release on Wednesday that it would be restarting flights in Italy from June. In a positive move, the airline will begin by resuming connections with Italy's major islands with services from Florence to Catania, Palermo, and Cagliari.

Air Dolomiti reconnects Italy with its islands

The press release from Lufthansa's Italian airline, Air Dolomiti, stated that from 5th June, it would resume flights from Florence to Catania and Palermo in Sicily. As of 19th June, the airline will operate flights from Florence to Cagliari in Sardinia.

Services to both islands will operate on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The airline said the following, as per the release:

"After a long lockdown, citizens will be able to return to fly freely to the major islands."

The airline is offering fares starting at €99 ($108) one way and €178 ($194) for a round trip, including taxes and surcharges. When booking, customers can secure the fare and pay at a later date, up to seven days before departure.

It is also giving passengers the option to cancel their booking free of charge within seven days of the flight. They can choose a full refund or rebook with no additional fees.  Air Dolomiti said the below:

"These facilitations will allow passengers to organize their travel with maximum flexibility."

Air Dolomiti E195

Competitiveness of Italian air market is at risk

Air Dolomiti President and CEO, Joerg Eberhart, said that the airline is pleased to be able to resume operations and offer flights to connect the country. Florence is one of the airline's strategic airports, and, with its ability to adapt to the new regulations, the restart of operations has been accelerated.

However, the airline feels that the competitiveness of the air market is at risk. In a post translated from Linkedin, Air Dolomiti said the below, concerning the cost of the resumed flights:

"The high fare is not the fault of #AirDolomiti, [it is] a problem when there is no competition and it is right to emphasize it, when the decree-law [was] published today, the so-called "relaunch decree" and the line of the government, put at risk the competitiveness of the air market in Italy."

Alitalia
Alitalia is expanding its network from June Photo: Getty Images

Post-pandemic Italy takes to the skies once more

Italy has endured a tough lockdown after being hard hit by COVID-19. But the country is now emerging, and its airlines are reopening routes.

In addition to Air Dolomiti, Italy's trouble flag carrier Alitalia announced on Wednesday that it is resuming services in June. The airline will restart direct flights from Rome to New York, Barcelona, and Madrid on 2nd June. It is also adding many direct domestic flights from Milan.

It was reported last week that Alitalia, which is undergoing nationalization after filing for bankruptcy three years ago, has a potential buyer. The former owner of Avianca, German Efromovich, is interested in the national airline.

Another Italian carrier, Air Italy, has applied for permission to continue flights between Europe and the US, despite going into voluntary liquidation in February. However, even with the considerable backing of Qatar Airways, the airline is unlikely to attract a buyer.

With the resumption of flights in Europe already beginning, do you think the forecasts of a slow recovery are too pessimistic? Leave a comment below.