"The new National Airport Plan developed by Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini represents a modern, balanced vision, and above all, one that is attentive to the social function of air transport, which is particularly important for an island like Sardinia." This is the statement made by former Regional Council President Michele Pais, a member of the League party and now a city councilor in Alghero. "The Ministry has made a commendable and far-sighted choice: not to impose the creation of a single company to manage Sardinia's airports, but to identify the 'Integrated Airport System' as the most effective tool for promoting the coordinated growth and competitiveness of the Cagliari, Olbia, and Alghero airports. This vision puts the local communities and citizens at the center, integrating economic, social, and mobility aspects."
In a press release, Pais highlights how the National Plan recognizes Cagliari, Olbia, and Alghero as part of a single integrated airport system, promoting collaboration between management companies through a coordinated network of airports, rather than through the creation of monopolies. Cooperation is seen as an opportunity to strengthen connectivity and regional development, not as a mere financial transaction. Pais adds that, on the contrary, "the Region is pursuing a diametrically opposed path, based on the transfer of control of Sardinian airports through financial transactions that risk subordinating regional needs to the logic of profit. This choice conflicts with the principle of national interest and the right to mobility of Sardinian citizens, because it ends up leaving discretionary power over strategic choices regarding air transport to the private sector."
The former president of the regional assembly also highlights an aspect that, in the statement, he considers particularly worrying: "The merger plan supported by President Todde provides that, after two years, the private shareholder F2i can sell its majority stake to third parties without any prior agreement with the Region. In practice, we risk entrusting the future of air mobility in Sardinia to currently unknown parties, devoid of any responsibility towards the local communities."
On an island like Sardinia, the public sector cannot be reduced to a mere spectator. It is up to the Region to establish development strategies, guide infrastructure decisions, and ensure the harmonious growth of the entire airport system. It is unacceptable that these decisions be delegated to financial operators whose natural goal is to maximize returns and dividends.
"This is why we fully support Minister Salvini's approach. Sardinia," Pais concludes, "needs an integrated airport network, coordinated and governed in the interests of the local communities, not a concentration of ownership that risks turning an essential service for Sardinians into a simple airport financing operation."