Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) has lodged a complaint with the European Commission over what CEO Michael O'Leary described as Italy's "stupid and illegal decree" capping fares to Sicily and Sardinia, reports Reuters.
Speaking during the presentation of Ryanair's new winter routes from Milan Malpensa and Milan Bergamo, he warned the Italian government was interfering with airlines' freedom to set low fares on domestic routes, which would drive up prices for Italian passengers. "This decree will only bring fewer flights and higher fares to Sardinia and Sicily," he said. He also cautioned it would impact Italian regional connectivity, employment, and tourism as airlines would shift their capacity from domestic to international routes, which are not subject to fare caps.
He insisted the decree was also unenforceable: "European law guarantees airlines the freedom to set prices lower or higher, and no Italian decree can limit this regulation".
"Unfortunately, this stupid and illegal decree, based on false and inaccurate advice from [the Italian civil aviation authority] ENAC, will have the opposite effect by reducing capacity and increasing tariffs for Sardinia and Sicily until it is cancelled by the European Courts," he predicted.
O'Leary called on the Italian government to scrap the decree, threatening to reduce domestic capacity to Sicily by 15 to 20% this IATA winter and shift focus to international routes serving the island.
Aimed at curbing excessive fare hikes to Sicily and Sardinia during peak holiday seasons, the Italian government implemented a ban on fares exceeding 200% of the average ticket prices to these islands last month.
Meanwhile, O'Leary announced that Ryanair would station two more aircraft at Rome Fiumicino, bringing its fleet at the airport to 15 aircraft for the 2023/2024 European winter season. The Irish budget carrier would serve 64 routes from Rome, including seven new ones to Nottingham East Midlands (UK), Gdansk, Poznan Lawica and Wroclaw (Poland), Memmingen (Germany), Riga (Latvia), and Tirana (Albania). It will also increase frequencies on 20 other international routes from Rome.
