Air Italy’s inaugural flight to Cuba
Posted in Air Italy, Milan Malpensa on August 3rd, 2009 by Milan Malpensa Airport News
Air Italy
Air Italy flew its inaugural flight to Cuba on July 31, operating a Boeing 767 from Rome via Milan Malpensa to Havana Airport. The Air Italy aircraft with 200 passengers on board, including a delegation of Italian journalists was the carriers first direct connection between Italy and Cuba.
The director of the Cuban Tourism Office in Italy, Jose Antonio Serguera, told reporters that Air Italy previously flew to Havana from other countries in Eastern Europe such as Poland. From now on, the Italian air carrier will maintain weekly flights from Rome via Milan Malpensa to Havana, every Friday.
Air Italy sales manager Aurora Bignardi thanked the Cuban Civil Aeronautics Institute and the Cuban Tourism Ministry for their support of the project, which she dubbed “a dream” of Air Italy president Giuseppe Gentile.
With the new service Cuban tourism authorities expect to increase the number of Italian tourists visiting the island, which has already surpassed 130, 000 annually. The figure has turned Italy into the third major source of tourists to Cuba after Canada and the United Kingdom.
