Fiumicino airport fire causes Alitalia 80 million in damages and counting

ITALY (eTN) – In the absence of a credible investment plan for the airport, Alitalia airline will be forced to shift its growth elsewhere.

The damage to Alitalia to date by the consequences of a fire that broke out on May 7, 2015 at Fiumicino Airport amountsto 80 million euros.

The recent reopening of Terminal 3 has in fact decreed the end of the emergency phase but not the end of the many problems and limitations that are still having heavy effects on airport operations. Alitalia will calculate the total amount of damages only when the airport starts operating the way it was before the fire.

Alitalia is the only airline to have its hub at Fiumicino airport and operates 50% of the total number of flights there. It is by far the company most affected by the consequences of the fire.

“We had a difficult period due to an event that has deeply affected Alitalia,” declared Silvano Cassano its Chief Executive Officer. “In this period, we have given up any controversy, and we focused entirely on the service to passengers, to reduce the inconvenience.”

Alitalia has completed an initial balance of the damages for the cancellation of thousands of flights and for a multitude of operational problems that have highlighted the fragility of the airport infrastructure as a whole. The final provisional number amounts to 80 million euros. Alitalia is determined to obtain compensation for damages suffered.

“Our recovery plan is complex, in one of the sectors [with] greater competition in Italy and in the world,” said Cassano. “The Fiumicino airport is not yet an appropriate infrastructure to serve as the hub of a company with our ambitions.

“The problems of Fiumicino born from years and years of inadequate investment and planning and are now structural. We hope that [there] will be placed less attention to finance and more attention to the market and the needs of the passengers.

“If Fiumicino will continue to focus on low-cost airlines and mediocre services, Alitalia will be forced to shift its growth elsewhere.”