The main problem with Italy's
air-transport sector is not high prices but its low capacity and
this is linked to the costs airlines face here, Ryanair Chief
Commercial Officer Jason McGuinness told ANSA on Monday.
Italy's competition authority said last week it has launched a
fact-finding investigation into the use of pricing algorithms in
passenger air transport on routes between the Italian mainland
and the island regions of Sicily and Sardinia.
Earlier in the year Premier Giorgia Meloni had announced a cap
on the prices of flights to the two islands, following a spike
in the summer, but it reconsidered the plan after Ryanair and
other airlines complained it breached European law.
"Italy doesn't have a price problem, but it does have a capacity
problem, a shortage of seats," McGuinness said.
"To be able to guarantee low fares in Italy, it is necessary to
reduce the costs that airlines face.
"But, unfortunately, this is not happening. Italy is not
competitive. The government must realize this.
"It has nothing to do with the algorithm, that's nonsense,
you're barking up the wrong tree".
He said, for example, that air-traffic.control costs are 70%
higher in Italy than in Spain.
McGuinness also called on the government to abolish the local
'addizionale comunale' tax on departures.
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