"Without air conditioning and water, with a broken engine": disruptions on the AeroItalia Cagliari-Milan flight

Difficult morning for passengers on the AeroItalia flight departing from Cagliari and bound for Milan Linate. Takeoff, scheduled for 8, was cancelled due to a failure of the plane's second engine, which was unable to start.

On board, passengers were forced to wait for an hour inside the aircraft, without air conditioning and without any water distribution. Only after this long wait, we were informed that it was impossible to repair the fault, informing that we would have to wait for the arrival of another plane from Fiumicino to be able to depart .

According to Francesca Nocera, an accountant from Cagliari and a direct witness to the incident, about half of the travelers were traveling for health reasons, the other half for work reasons. " The captain said that a plane is a machine and can break down. But if a car breaks down, there are alternatives . In Sardinia, however, health care is in disarray. If they don't guarantee us safe transfers, we really risk our lives," Nocera said.

The episode brings the spotlight back on the critical issues related to air connections to and from Sardinia , and on the need for an efficient transport service, especially for those who need to travel for medical treatment.

Below is the full press release from Aeroitalia: «In reference to the news released this morning regarding the 8:00 AeroItalia flight departing from Cagliari and bound for Milan Linate, it is considered appropriate to provide a correct reconstruction of the facts. Shortly before take-off, a technical problem was encountered and in order to ensure maximum safety, the decision was made to replace the aircraft with another aircraft. The additional checks were carried out even at the cost of a delay in the primary interest of flight safety. The passengers remained on board for approximately 40 minutes, during which, contrary to what was reported, the air conditioning was found to be working properly. During the wait, water was also distributed on board as per procedure. The flight departed with an overall delay of 2 hours and 40 minutes compared to the scheduled time. AeroItalia apologizes for the inconvenience caused, but would like to point out that the company boasts a punctuality rate of over 95% on the Cagliari–Milan route. Delays and technical problems, although rare, are among the eventualities foreseen by every airline."