I airline tickets a Christmas e New Year for Sicilia e Sardinia they could cost as much as a flight to New York. Not the record fares of last year (with dozens of flights above 300-400 euros each way), but still high, given the price of fuel falling compared to 2022. A theme which, however, recurs cyclically but ends up forgotten once the peak period has passed. In the summer the Government had tried to solve the problem with a decree that set a maximum ceiling on the price of flights eliminated during conversion into law due to the comments made by Europe and above all by Ryanair: so a weakened text was released which prohibits carriers from using algorithms to manipulate prices and gives the Antitrust powers to investigate, but nothing else. Useless to combat excessively high costs. And the problem is regularly returning for the winter, especially for the Islands. Now reach Sicily or Sardinia from Milan, Bologna o Rome it seems to have become a privilege for a few. The situation is made even more paradoxical by a comparison with the prices of international routes. The problem is that there aren't many alternative by plane: for example, to get to Olbia from Civitavecchia by car you have to shell out more than 500 euros if you also take the cabin.
Return flights to Sicily: prices from Milan to Rome
To fly to Palermo, with date of departure on December 23rd, you spend at least 168 euros from Rome (with Ryanair) or 189 euros with Aeroitalia and 199 euros with Ita. The cost rises to 273 euros per ticket starting from Florence, Milan Bergamo-Orio al Serio 192 euros while from Malpensa 230 euros and even 314 euros if you board at Bologna but always at 5 in the morning, otherwise they can reach up to 399 euros to leave in the afternoon.
Rates that do not take into account additional costs, such as those for hand luggage or the choice of seat, which heavily impact the final price of the ticket.
If you also add a flight of I will return on January 7th the cost of tickets can, in some cases, exceed 500 euros per passenger. For example for Bologna. The price to return to the Emilia-Romagna capital is around 250 euros, dropping to 201 if you leave early in the morning. For Florence, always starting from Palermo, the cost drops to 150 euros; For Milan from 141 euros and up; finally for Rome 147 euros with Ita or 107 euros with Aeroitalia, but leaving at 5 in the morning. And if these calculations also include a taxi (if available) or a bus to go to the airport, the return home becomes a drain.
Return flights to Sardinia: prices from Milan to Rome
Slightly lower, but still high, are the prices of flights to Sardinia: to reach Cagliari flying from Milan 146 euros are spent, 211 euros from Turin, 197 euros from Bologna. The minimum spend is 120 euros from Rome (always one way and leaving at dawn). For the return, for example domenica 7 January, costs vary greatly from city to city: for Rome starting from 51 euros (at dawn); Cagliari-Milan Bergamo-Orio al Serio from 93 euros but rises dramatically for Malpensa (from 202 euros and up) and from Linate (302 and up); In the end Cagliari-Bologna starts at 142 euros.
Nothing new. The "commuters of the skies" even at Christmas and New Year's Eve risk stumbling upon expensive flights after the "beats" they took between April and September. Even if there could be some small advantages for the residing in Sicily: the Region has allocated 27,5 million to reduce prices by up to 50% (for students, disabled people with at least 67% disability and those with an ISEE income of up to 9.360 euros) targeted on the routes to Milan and Rome. But will it be enough?
Rates that did not go unnoticed even by Codacons, which carried out research to understand how much it costs to book a flight today to reach Sicily and Sardinia at Christmas.
New complaints, old dilemmas
Although the investigation into theAntitrust for dear-flights last year - which will end shortly, with possible sanctions against Ryanair, Wizz Air, EasyJet and Ita - Codacons presented a new complaint to the Authority "to intervene on yet another increase in air flights to the detriment of workers and students returning home during the holidays". Said the president of the association Carlo Rienzi. And he added: “We cannot help but wonder what happened to the Government measures introduced with the Asset Decree and which were aimed precisely at avoiding what Codacons recorded, i.e. an increase in tariffs for connections with the islands during a period of peak demand."
Meanwhile, the Business Minister Adolfo Urso summoned a new table on the topic, Monday 20 November which will be attended by the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Galeazzo Bignami, and the sector associations, as well as representatives of the airlines operating in Italy.
Dear flights in the EU's sights
The doubt that something is wrong with the dynamics of airline tickets also plagues Brussels. The European Commission is investigating theincrease in airfares across Europe, rising up to 30% over the summer with exceptional profits for airlines. This was announced by the EU Transport Commissioner, Adina Valean, in an interview with the Financial Times. “We are investigating”, explained Valean, specifying however that Brussels does not intend to intervene in a “functioning” market.
But we have to wait a few more weeks before we get answers (if they ever arrive) and, in the meantime, workers and students who return home for the holidays have to pay prohibitive prices to purchase a ticket “to” and “to” the Island.
