ROME (Reuters) – Low-cost airline Ryanair said on Thursday it was going to cut flights to Italy’s Sardinia island during the upcoming winter season, in reaction to an Italian decree that caps air fares.
Last month, the government banned airlines from raising fares to Sicily and Sardinia beyond a level “200% higher” than the average price for flights to the two islands, a move aimed at stemming price increases over the peak summer holidays.
In a statement, Ryanair said it would operate 200 weekly flights to and from Sardinia, a reduction of 8% compared to the 2022 winter, cutting three domestic routes and limiting connections to other destinations.
The Irish airline called the Italian price cap “illegal” and urged Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s rightist government to withdraw the measure. Last month, Ryanair top executive Eddie Wilson lashed at the decree as “Soviet-style stuff”.
Other carriers have also criticised the measure.
(Reporting by Keith Weir and Alvise Armellini, editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
