Giuridico e Amministrativo

✈️ Ryanair, aiming to reduce airport management costs, will require passengers to use digital boarding passes from May, disallowing physical check-in desk printing, previously available for a 23-euro fee. Hand luggage exceeding 40x20x25 cm will incur up to a 70-euro fine. Missing a flight results in a 120-euro penalty, avoidable by arriving at least 40 minutes before departure. Priority Boarding remains available for an additional carry-on or paid luggage check-in.

🗻 At Catania airport, flight operations partially resumed after Etna's eruption disruptions. The crisis unit closed airspace sector B11 until 15:00, reopening previously closed airspaces. Passengers must verify flight status with airlines before heading to the airport. Within the last 24 hours, 32 flights were diverted and airport sector C1 reopened on Sunday, February 16. Airlines including Lufthansa and easyJet cancelled various national and international flights.

🚌 FS Italiane Group has been working on the Riyadh metro project since 2018, in partnership with Ansaldo STS and Alstom within the Flow Consortium. The Group secured operation and maintenance services for metro lines 3, 4, 5, and 6 for a 12-year period. This is part of Saudi Arabia's wider shift towards sustainable mobility, including infrastructure enhancement and public transport services. With this goal, FS Italiane established Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Saudi Arabia for land transport in Riyadh in 2019 to manage the project and identify further development opportunities.

🔥 Santorini, amid an ongoing seismic swarm, is the victim of fake news on social media, with artificial intelligence-generated videos depicting false volcanic eruptions. These misleading contents have gone viral, showing Santorini engulfed in flames and lava. The misinformation has caused image damage to the destination, leading to thousands of tourists leaving the island due to fears of increased seismic activity.

✈ Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, discussed the failed deal between IAG and Air Europa in an interview with El Mundo. He questioned why Lufthansa is allowed to purchase ITA while IAG can't buy Air Europa, hinting at the influence of British Airways and non-European entities. O'Leary believes Air Europa won't survive independently and would be better managed by Iberia from Madrid or Lufthansa from Frankfurt. Ryanair was positioned as a 'remedy taker' to take over routes for competition reasons if the IAG-Air Europa deal had succeeded.

💸 Volotea achieved a record year in 2024 with revenue of €811 million, a 17% increase from €694 million in 2023. EBITDA rose to €148 million (+54% from 2023) with an 18% margin, and operating profit (EBIT) hit €35 million. The airline operated 450 routes with over 75,000 flights (+10% from 2023), carrying 11.4 million passengers. It also opened three new bases in Brest, Rodez, and Bari, and grew its workforce by 15% to over 2,000 employees for the summer season. In Italy, Volotea transported over 3.8 million passengers (+9% from 2023) across 172 routes, with a 91% occupancy rate. Plans for 2025 include offering 12.7 million seats and operating over 75,000 flights, with 4.3 million seats for sale in Italy.

🏨 Lufthansa targets the tour operating market with Eurowings, set to launch Eurowings Holidays on April 1st. This digital-only brand aims to combine air travel with hotel accommodations, emulating easyJet Holidays' success. Lufthansa accelerates the move after investing in resources and structures from entrepreneur Karlheinz Kogel. Eurowings aims to enter the top ten of German travel companies, capitalizing on the industry's expected growth into 2025.

🏩 Volotea experienced growth in 2024 at its Florence and Palermo bases, with over 2,500 flights (24% increase from 2023) and 367,000 passengers (27% increase) in Florence, boasting a 94% average load factor. 13 destinations were connected from Florence, 77% exclusively. Palermo saw over 3,000 flights (15% increase from 2023), transporting nearly 500,000 passengers (15% increase), and offered 20 routes, 65% exclusively.

✈ Suites Global, a Dubai-based tour operator, has formed a partnership with Agenzia Per Amica network and FlyDubai to offer exclusive rates and quality services for tours in the Middle East, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. The collaboration, leveraging the strategic vision of Umberto Serra and the support of FlyDubai's Italian sales team Lara Roma and Vincenzo Barone, aims to provide integrated, exclusive, and competitive travel packages. Luca Fenzo, CEO of Suites Global, sees this as a turning point for the Italian tourism market.

📍 In 2024, Royal Air Maroc carried 500,000 passengers in Italy and plans for a new African destination, Dakhla, were revealed. New routes from Rabat and Madrid to Dakhla began in January. The airline's Italian network could expand beyond the current 40 weekly flights from six airports (Turin, Milan Malpensa, Venice, Bologna, Rome Fiumicino, and Naples) with the addition of 11 new Boeings in June. By 2037, the fleet is projected to increase from 70 to 200 aircraft, serving over 100 global destinations and 46 domestic routes, aiming for €9 billion in turnover and 31.6 million passengers, up from 7.2 million in 2024. Casablanca-Beijing flights have resumed, positioning the airline as a hub between the Americas, Europe, and Asia.