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ITA: Italy’s new national airline starts selling tickets for US flights

New Italian national carrier Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) has begun selling tickets for its first transatlantic flights as it prepares to take off on October 15th, replacing Alitalia.

Passengers at New York's JFK airport.
New airline ITA will begin its transatlantic flight offering from Rome's Fiumicino airport. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Tickets are on sale as of Tuesday, October 5th, for routes between Italy the USA, the new airline announced.

ITA will initially fly from Rome Fiumicino to New York JFK, Miami, Boston, and Los Angeles, and from Milan Malpensa to New York JFK.

EXPLAINED: What are the current rules for travel to Italy from the US and Canada?

“The American authorities have authorized the marketing of flights to and from the USA,” read a press release, which added that tickets were now available on its website www.itaspa.com as well as from ticket offices and travel agencies.

The company’s first intercontinental route will be Rome Fiumicino to JFK, with six flights each way per week from November 4th, rising to 10 weekly flights by December 2021 and up to 14 a week over the Christmas holiday period.

Tickets for some domestic and European routes are already on sale.

The new airline will effectively replace loss-making legacy carrier Alitalia from October 15th.

READ ALSO: European airlines pledge to refund costs of cancelled flight tickets in 7 days

Alitalia is no longer selling tickets for flights from October 15th, and has confirmed that customers who have already booked tickets after that point can switch to an earlier flight or receive a refund.

ITA’s scheduled debut comes amid serious challenges for the airline industry that was battered during the coronavirus pandemic, especially larger carriers already struggling to compete against low-cost airlines.

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STRIKES

UPDATE: Italy’s government postpones nationwide rail strike on Sunday

A 23-hour nationwide rail strike planned for Sunday, May 19th was postponed on Thursday following orders from Italy's transport ministry.

UPDATE: Italy's government postpones nationwide rail strike on Sunday

Passengers travelling across Italy by train were expected to face disruption this weekend as staff at state-owned railway operator Ferrovie dello Stato – which includes Trenitalia, Trenord and Trenitalia Tper – and private company Italo planned to strike from 3am on Sunday, May 19th to 2am on Monday, May 20th, for a total of 23 hours.

But Italy’s transport ministry on Thursday issued an injunction postponing the walkout to a future date, saying that the protest may have resulted in “major repercussions and public order and safety issues” at the Emilia Romagna Formula 1 Grand Prix over the weekend.

READ ALSO: Italy’s national train strike on Sunday postponed after government order

The walkout had been called by the PdM/PdB transport union in mid-April to demand the renewal of collective labour agreements in the rail transport sector.

The planned protest was set to affect all types of rail travel, from long-distance services to regional and local ones, with passengers in multiple areas of the country expected to face delays and/or cancellations. 

Staff at national rail operator Trenitalia, private long-distance operator Italo and regional train companies Trenord and Trenitalia Tper were all expected to take part in the walkout.

As of Friday morning, the PdM/PdB union had not yet issued a response and there was no detail as to when the walkout would take place.

READ ALSO: The transport strikes that will hit travel in Italy in May 2024

Some Italian media reports on Friday said that rail workers may openly challenge the injunction and go ahead with the strike on Sunday, but there was no statement from the PdM/PdB union nor the involved rail operators supporting this claim. 

Keep up with the latest updates in The Local’s strike news section.

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