The high cost of flights is back in Italy, with air ticket prices for the islands already recording clear peaks in view of the Christmas holidays. The explains it Codacons, which carried out research to understand how much it costs to book a flight today to reach Sicily and Sardinia at Christmas. «To fly to Catania starting on December 22nd with a one-way ticket, you spend a minimum of today 206 euros starting from Milan, 231 euros from Bologna, 239 euros from Turin and 242 euros from Florence. analyzes Codacons – If you move the departure date to December 23rd, the cost rises to 273 euros per ticket starting from Turin, 286 euros from Florence. To get to Palermo by boarding on December 23rd, the minimum cost is 143 euros from Rome (always one way), 220 euros from Milan, 269 euros from Turin and even 314 euros if you leave from Bologna.
The prices of flights to Sardinia are slightly lower, but still at high levels: to reach Cagliari flying from Milan you spend 127 euros leaving on December 22nd which reaches 135 euros if you leave on December 24th; 211 euros from Turin, 194 euros from Venice, 177 euros from Bologna. Rates which – underlines Codacons – do not take into account additional costs, such as those for hand luggage or the choice of seat, taxes which have a significant impact on the final price of the ticket. If you also add a return flight on January 7th, with a trolley in tow, the cost of tickets for connections from northern Italy to Sicily can exceed 500 euros per passenger, practically the same price as a Rome-New York ticket which, on the same dates, starts from around 560 euros per traveller. On the issue, the association has decided to involve the Antitrust once again, which has already opened a formal investigation in the case of high-cost flights to and from Sicily following a complaint from Codacons: «We are submitting a new complaint to the Authority to intervene on yet another increase in air flights to the detriment of workers and students returning home during the holidays – states President Carlo Rienzi – We cannot help but wonder what happened to the Government measures introduced with the Asset Decree and which were aimed precisely at to avoid what Codacons has recorded, i.e. an increase in tariffs for connections with the islands during a period of peak demand”.