Rome-Catania 509 euros one way. Milan-Palermo 541. Ticket prices planes to Sicily I'm sky high. The result? Thousands of students and off-site workers have given up going home to their families for the holidays because of the high prices. Very high figures that many cannot afford and which for some consumer associations are unjustified and unjustifiable.
Antitrust: investigation opens on the prices of flights to Sicily
THEAntitrust has therefore decided to launch an investigation against Ryanair, Wizz Air, EasyJet and Italy to establish whether they distorted competition by increasing the prices of air tickets on the routes connecting the main Italian cities (Rome, Bologna, Turin and Milan) and Sicily during the Christmas holidays.
The Inquiry comes following a complaint presented by Codacons Sicily last December 13, deeming that any price distortions "would be particularly serious, especially in the current phase of crisis, of difficulties for consumers and the reduction of the purchasing power" of families.
To report the problem "expensive flights" was also the Sicily region which, at the instigation of the new president, Renato Schifani, has already filed a complaint with the Antitrust: “La situation determined against the Sicilians – says the governor – it is there for all to see and I have also brought it to the attention of the country. We look forward to it."
Assoutenti: "I suspect speculation and anti-competitive phenomena"
The Assoutenti association, which in recent days had carried out a survey on the prices of flights to Sicily. Based on what emerged, the ticket for the route Rome-Palermo (one way) cost 370 euros with departure on December 21st, 254 euros if you embarked on December 23rd, but even 511 euros if you departed on December 20th, a figure that even exceeded that of the Rome-New York flight which, in the same date, it cost 459 euros. For the treat Rome-Catania with departure on December 23, the ticket started from a minimum of 338 euros. And from the date the survey was carried out i prices have risen further, surpassing plenty of the 500 euros one way.
“Spending on airline tickets is particularly high this Christmas, and not just because of the huge price increases of the sector, up on an annual basis by 80% for domestic flights – underlines the president Furio Truzzi – In fact, the suspicion of speculation and anti-competitive phenomena who exploit the increased departures of citizens during the holidays to increase the earnings of the airlines. For this reason we hope that the investigation opened by the Antitrust will clarify and punish any unfair practice to the detriment of users”.
Easyjet: full cooperation
"EasyJet is aware of the investigation launched by the Competition and Market Authority against some airlines operating in Italy, including easyJet”. The company "firmly rejects these claims, confirming that it has always operated in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations". The company explains that: "it will collaborate in full transparency with the authorities in order to demonstrate that it has always acted lawfully in compliance with the rules of competition and in the best interests of consumers", reads a statement from the company.
