Ita, the former state Alitalia, flies to Sardinia only on weekends. Destination Piazza del Carmine, in the heart of Cagliari, seat of the TAR, the Regional Administrative Court. The mission of the men of the powerful Chiomenti & Parteners studio this time, however, is less belligerent than in the past. In a few months the flying leaders of the newly formed Italian company have gone from the peremptory "we will be readmitted to the race", pronounced by the two numbers one of Ita, to the inexorable and silent retreat of these last hours. The lawyers of the late Alitalia burst into the courtroom in the early hours of yesterday, with a surrender that was as unexpected as it was indecipherable. That stream of appeals that presented immediately after the exclusion from the tender for territorial continuity to and from Sardinia, awarded to the Spanish Volotea, was reduced, in the last weekend of the first month of the new year, to a small amount laughable judicial trickle.

The retreat

With a digital broadcast, the lawyers of Rome, the same ones who simultaneously wrote, lavishly paid, by name and on behalf of the Sardinian Region, the rules of territorial continuity, have decided to beat retreat. They did so formally on five of the six appeals they filed last November against their exclusion from the race, which was later won by the Spaniards. The accusation of the Region was without appeal: you do not have the planes to be able to fly on the routes of territorial continuity to and from Sardinia. Now, in the rooms of Piazza del Carmine, the surrender notified by the lawyers of the state company is called "supervening lack of interest", or rather the formal renunciation of discussing the lawsuits on the routes covered by what promised to be a very tough dispute over the skies of Sardinia. The managers of Ita had even gone so far as to threaten a formal complaint against the Region itself, accused in turn of having caused unprecedented damage to the image of the company struggling with the first flying cries. In the end, however, not only did they desist from seeking damages, but yesterday they informed the Administrative Court that they no longer have an interest in going forward with the appeals. All withdrawn, therefore, except one.

Resist Cagliari-Rome

Only the Cagliari-Roma resist. That Ita appeal did not withdraw it. An act as incomprehensible as it is surprising, given that with this gesture it risks fully endorsing the thesis of the Region according to which at the time of the Ita tender it did not have sufficient aircraft to manage territorial continuity to and from Sardinia. Ita's move could tend to demonstrate that, at least on the Cagliari-Rome routes, there was aircraft availability, confirming, however, in fact, that it did not have enough for the Cagliari-Milan, and for the routes to Rome. and Milan from Alghero and Olbia. Hence the waiver of 5 out of six appeals.

Key audience

The true meaning of this retreat will be understood only next Wednesday, February 2, when the Sardinian TAR, in public hearing, will be called to take note of the waivers and to discuss the merits of the only appeal still standing, that for the connection between Cagliari and Rome, in fact the most profitable route of all. Ita's attack strategy is slowly turning into a defensive one, given that succumbing to all six appeals would also have meant bearing all the costs of a possible conviction. The judicial match could, however, be linked to the new extension launched by the Government and the Region in recent days. In fact, the Minister of Infrastructure and Mobility Enrico Giovannini, in agreement with the Region, had to issue a new decree to prevent yet another disaster in the Sardinian skies given that the current award to Volotea should have expired on 15 May next.

Chaos in the summer

The chaos reported by tour operators, and not only, risked compromising all reservations for the summer season, leaving an entire economic sector of the island in disarray. For this reason Giovannini had to sign an addendum to the previous decree providing for an extension of the period subject to the territorial continuity regime. From May 15th, the deadline is moved to October 1st, the date for which the definition of the final tender is assumed. For these new six months of territorial continuity, however, the airlines that will apply to carry out the service will not take even one euro of compensation and will not even be able to enjoy the exclusivity of the routes. In practice, those who want to be in the game will have to declare it with the awareness that they will have to renounce any public contribution and above all may not have the exclusivity.

Volotea takes risks

The games, therefore, reopen, with Volotea risking to lose both the compensatory contribution, which had already reduced by more than 40%, beating Ita, and the exclusivity. It is evident, however, that if Ita were to accept to compete in this second phase of territorial continuity without public contributions, a precedent would be set that could induce both the State and Brussels to reassess the level of compensation paid to the companies so far. It would prove, in essence, that those contributions were in fact a State gift to the airlines, given that it had been abundantly demonstrated that the cost of an hour of flight, including a profit margin deemed admissible by the European Commission, was abundantly covered precisely. from the cost of the pre-established ticket for residents. In this case, the chapter relating to the single tariff could also be reopened, considering that with its cancellation, a real discrimination against Sardinia has in fact been accomplished.

Sardinia discriminated against

Having diversified airline tickets between residents and non-residents has put the island out of the game in economic and infrastructural competition, aggravating rather than solving the island condition. The gap, with two tariffs for residents and non-residents, has created a financial and economic wall to the advantage of other territories reachable on equal terms between all Italian and European citizens. In this case, the discrimination against Sardinia would directly involve Sardinian emigrants, those children of the island treated as strangers and forced to pay a triple or quadruple amount to reach their birthplace.

Terms reopened

It is also possible that the Government and the Region are forced to reopen the terms for the ordinary call for proposals for the new territorial continuity, given that errors have been found in the one just published. An accident that could allow Sardinian emigration associations, consumers 'associations and tourism employers' organizations to challenge the decrees precisely with respect to the discrimination reserved for Sardinia with the failure to apply a single tariff for island rebalancing. In the skies of the island, turbulence is only just beginning.

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