“With this present we express our strong concerns about the situation that is taking place at the Pitagora airport of Crotone, in relation to the airline Sky Alps. The latter was in fact awarded the announcement organized by ENAC for the exclusive assignment, under regime of public service charges, of the Crotone – Rome Fiumicino air transport, guaranteeing daily connections from 2 October 2023 “.
This is what they write eleven city councilors to the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini.
It has been guaranteed that this connection was made with a 78 -seater aircraft, departing from Crotone at 8.00 am and returned from Rome to 17.30. Since it is a flight in regime in service charges, the State has provided for compensatory funds to protect the right to mobility by allocating 4.4 million euros per year for three years, equal to approximately 13 million and 300 thousand euros in total. However, the work of Sky Alps seems to be compromised by a serious technical problems. During a recent inspection of the ENAC, which lasted three days, numerous “non -conformities” emerged that put the safety of flights and fleet at risk, which has eight planes of which seven are currently stopped. The flight operations have been guaranteed, in fact, through planes borrowed from other companies, but with lower capacities, forcing many travelers to remain on the ground. In addition, three flights have been canceled in the last few days. At this point it is legitimate to ask yourself about the sustainability of this situation: how long Sky Alps will be able to continue operating in these conditions? Is it justified to continue to allocate public funds for a service that does not guarantee the regularity and safety of flights? The situation is even more serious if we consider that the Crotone-Rome flight represents the only fast communication route for the Crotone area, an essential connection not only for business, but also for tourism and families. If Sky Alps is unable to guarantee the regularity of the service, and considering that the repair of its fleet would require long times, it would be advisable that the company was made aside, allowing other companies to take over and guarantee air service. Our concern concerns the future of our territory, which despite having the potential to enjoy four important communication routes (perfect ten: port in the city center, railway in the city center, airport twenty minutes from the center, and the SS106 state road that connects the city directly) risks remaining daily. If the situation is not resolved promptly, the concrete risk is that the Calabrian territory loses further development opportunities, thus undermining its economic and social growth. For this reason, we ask for an urgent intervention by the Ministry of Infrastructure, so that the necessary corrective actions are adopted, to guarantee the continuity and safety of the air service from Crotone to Rome “.