After the complaint to the Antitrust Authority against the alleged Ita-Ryanair duopoly and the complaint to the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office for abuse of a dominant position against the Italian company with public capital, the Schifani government, worried about the expensive flights before Christmas, decided to intervene directly. It does so by opening the wallet, 27.5 million euros - between regional and insularity funds - to reduce the cost of tickets for connections to and from the island by up to 50% for the Rome (two airports) and Milan (three airports) routes. To benefit for 13 months will be Sicilian residents, students, those with an ISEE income of up to 9,360 euros, the elderly over 65 years old, travelers for health reasons, young people under 26, the disabled with at least 67 percent disability, competitive athletes, employees with a place of work outside the region. Tomorrow the Region will publish the call for applications from airlines; The notice will remain open for ten days, then from the first of December the discounts will start. The 25% reduction will be for all residents in Sicily and could be triggered as early as the time of booking from the platforms of the companies that will join, the additional 25% instead is intended for the weaker categories; in the latter case, if the companies do not accept self-certification at the time of booking, the Region will directly manage the refund requests through its own portal. "This is a day to remember. The battle against high flight prices has been a battle that I have been fighting since I took office and I can say that I have achieved another important result - said President Renato Schifani - In fact, after our commitment to encourage the arrival of a new carrier that has broken the de facto duopoly in air connections with our island and the establishment of an observatory for air transport, Today we are keeping another commitment we made to the Sicilians. This measure fulfils what has always been a priority of my government, as well as an act of justice towards our fellow citizens who are harassed by pirate pricing policies. I now hope that these initiatives will produce structural solutions in favour of travellers, especially those who bear the burden of insularity." In detail, to take advantage of the reduction, the ticket price must be higher than 62.50 euros. If, on the other hand, the cost is between €50.01 and €62.50, the discount will be calculated to bring it to €50. The reduction in the total cost of the ticket can reach a maximum of 75 euros per single route. Up to 50 euros, however, no discount will be applied. For priority categories, the additional 25 percent clash will be applied on tickets costing more than €50. "It is the first time ever - said the Councillor for Transport Alessandro Aricò - that a regional government has launched a measure aimed at reducing the prices of tickets that Sicilians are forced to pay to reach the rest of Italy by plane. This is a measure that is compatible with national and EU rules."
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