Air Mediterranean (MV, Athens) will operate charter flights out of Forli in partnership with GoTo Fly, taking over from AeroItalia (XZ, Rome Fiumicino), with which the Italian virtual carrier had an agreement last year until their alliance collapsed.
Starting on May 27 and running through the summer season, the Greek carrier will deploy its fleet of B737-400s to 12 destinations from Forli: Catania, Trapani, Lampedusa, Pantelleria, Olbia, Cagliari, Preveza/Lefkas, Zakinthos, Kefallinia, Kerkyra, Karpathos, and Tirana.
Forlì Airport opted to partner Air Mediterranean given its B737-400s offer more capacity and have additional aircraft backing up the operation, Andrea Stefano Gilardi, airport general manager and accountable manager, said. Additionally, Albatechnics, a specialised Boeing-certified MRO firm, is based in Forlì.
In 2023, GoTo Fly chartered flights from AeroItalia, which used an ATR72-600 wet-leased from AirConnect (Bucharest Baneasa) with a capacity for 68 passengers in a single-class configuration. Air Mediterranean’s B737-400s have a configuration for 162 passengers in a single-class.
GoTo Fly is a Forlì Airport-controlled virtual carrier which “promotes and markets [...] scheduled, charter, and ‘ad hoc’ flights” out of the regional airport in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna province.
Air Mediterranean told ch-aviation that "it is excited about this new adventure it is embarking on, in collaboration with GoTo Fly and Forlì Airport, and it looks forward to serving the passengers of Forlì and the region."