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Alitalia discontinued all flights from Malpensa, the international airport in Milan. Alitalia will no longer fly from Milan due to the collapse in demand linked to the global COVID-19 health emergency.
This will be implemented as of October. Alitalia’s most popular route from Milan to Rome was previously reduced to two a day and passengers were mostly transit guests connecting from Tokyo or New York.
It is the first time since 1948 that the Italian flag carrier will not operate from Milan Malpensa Airport. A history spanning seventy years, which has also experienced moments of great expansion, such as when at the end of the 90s the airport was imagined as an intercontinental hub. The new Malpensa 2000 terminal was chosen as an operational base by the former Italian national airline.
Canceled is Milan – New York , Rome-Boston. There are no more flights from Italy on Alitalia to Argentine (Rome-Buenos Aires) and from Rome to Tokyu. Also flights to Tel Aviv and Alger are canceled.
Alitalia is still operating flights to Paris, Brussels, London, and Amsterdam from Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate airport.
Frankfurt, Munich, Geneva, Zurich, Nice, Marseille, Madrid, Malaga, Barcelone, Athens and Tirana will still connect to Rome.
Currently, the demand for international flights from an to Italy is down 40% from pre-COVID-19 levels.
The discontinuation of almost all flights during the months of the lockdown has severely impacted the industry, leaving airlines and airports in a state of extreme fragility. Aid was granted to the main European and US airlines, from Lufthansa to Air France, from IAG (British-Iberia) to United Airlines and American Airlines.
Alitalia also received its support for the pandemic: A green light from Brussels arrived just a few days ago. But despite this, the massive cuts in staff, implemented by the main airlines, and the drastic reduction of operations continue.
COVID-19 arrived when Alitalia was already in a crisis and relaunched a new version of Alitalia prior to the pandemic. Financial aid can flow to Alitalia under the condition, that the new and old Alitalia is not connected
Alitalia President Francesco Caio and the CEO Fabio Lazzerini are back to work, to define a recovery plan in an air transport situation that is nothing short of desperate and dramatic.
The company’s operations currently rely on three quarters on the domestic market. The airline mus take advantage and coordinate its affiliation with the Skyteam alliance to rebuild its international network.
