The Italian civil aviation authority (Ente Nazionale per l'Aviazione Civile - ENAC) has suspended the Operating Licence of cargo specialist AlisCargo (CP, Milan Malpensa) as of December 27, 2022.
The regulator did not issue any statement other than the update of its listing of active airlines. The carrier also did not comment on the development.
The Italian carrier launched in mid-2021 using two B777-200ERs in a makeshift freighter configuration. Although it has since replaced the two B777s with another two units of the same type, it continued to deploy them on cargo-only routes. EI-ISB (msn 32859) was active until December 20 on a long-term cargo ACMI with ITA Airways (AZ, Rome Fiumicino), but has been parked at Rome Fiumicino since then. In turn, EI-ISD (msn 32860) has been in storage since October 2022, having previously also flown for ITA Airways.
Since August 1, 2022, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) no longer allows airlines under its jurisdiction to carry cargo in the cabins of passenger aircraft, leaving AlisCargo with only the bellyholds available for customers.
The airline recently indicated that it would add B767s of unspecified variants as it has started hiring personnel for the type. It is not clear if the OL's suspension affects the carrier's plans. AlisCargo did not respond to ch-aviation's request for clarification.
