Meloni government plans to cap price of flights to Italian…
Airlines have called on the European Commission to step into a row over the Italian government’s plan to cap air fares on certain routes. Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government has outlined plans for price caps on flights between mainland Italy and Sicily and Sardinia after ticket prices rose 70% on those routes. Airlines are angry at the proposals, which represent an unusual attempt to cap fares. Trade body Airlines for Europe (A4E) called on Brussels “to clarify with Italy that this intervention impacts the free and deregulated air transport market in Europe”. A4E said capping fares on these routes would “violate” the rights of airlines “to compete wherever possible, set prices and define services as they see fit.” Under the Italian plan, airfares during the high season would be capped at 200% of average prices while the use of “profiling algorithms” that may impact prices would also be limited, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. Legislation on the European air travel market allows for price regulation to and from remote regions “only in specific cases . . . to ensure both territorial connectivity and affordability.” .Tweet Europe’s airlines clash with Italian premier over planned fare cap Price ceiling is latest stand-off between corporate world and Giorgia Meloni’s government By Philip Georgiadis in London, Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli in Milan an
