First, the detailed quantification of the increased costs incurred by airlines, which will have to request the initiation of an investigation. Then, the disbursement of the funds will take place, based on criteria and methods that have yet to be established.

The Regional Council, acting on a proposal from Transport Councillor Barbara Manca, has approved the implementation of the Regional Fund "Adjustment of Jet Fuel Costs in Public Transport Services," with a budget of €10 million for 2026. This funding was made available through the budget approved by the Regional Council. The fund is intended to address the exceptional increase in the cost of jet fuel on territorial continuity services to and from Sardinia.

The Directorate General for Transport, it is explained, will initiate a technical investigation to quantify the increased costs incurred by carriers during the period from March 1 to September 30, 2026. The calculation will take into account the jet fuel prices used as a reference in the territorial continuity regimes and the deviations actually recorded. Both connections with and without financial compensation will be considered, according to the regimes established by the 2021 and 2025 ministerial decrees.

The offices will identify the legal instruments for possible contributions, compensation, reimbursements, or other forms of support, in compliance with national, European, and state aid regulations.

"This isn't an automatic or blanket reimbursement for the increased fuel cost," Manca explains. "We need to assess, route by route, how much the increase in jet fuel has impacted the economic balance stipulated in the contracts and identify, where appropriate, the measures needed to restore it. This is a technical task that must be carried out rigorously, because we're talking about public resources and because every intervention must be fully compliant with national and European regulations."

(Unioneonline/E.Fr.)

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