“I returned home on Friday and on Sunday I was already at Malpensa”, says the CEO of Ryanair, Eddie Wilson, to tell the importance of the Italian market. The manager of the low cost airline from Milan has moved to Bologna to meet the students of the «Air & Space Law» of the II level Master in Legal Studies of the Department of Legal Sciences of the Alma Mater.
He told the 45 students from all over the world the evolution of aviation market. From the global the discussion ended on the local. And also the CEO of the company that is worth the half the traffic of Marconi airport he joined the list (industrialists above all) of those dissatisfied with the Bologna airport and its services.
The attack on Marconi: there are many better airports
«The airport needs a huge improvement – confirmed Wilson -. We bring all this traffic to Bologna, but we receive a lot complaints. There are many airports in Italy more capable of handling passengers. It’s not that difficult. After all, people just want to overcome the controlsHaving a bath clean, a coffee and go onairplane. There are no excuses on this and the airport must do it.” The company’s CEO then reiterated that overtourism is not a problem for the city. And he also said he was calm about the noise. «We don’t fly at night, however we have purchased planes that reduce the impact acoustic and which take on board more passengers, reducing the use of fuel – he explained -. It is the airport’s responsibility to discuss with i residents on how to improve the impact of the airport for those who live nearby. Then, in general, I think that companies that do not invest in new aircraft should be penalized.”
The Antitrust proceeding
Wilson’s visit to the city comes on the day of the news of the opening, by the Antitrust, of a method precautionary measure against the company for «possible abuse of dominant position». According to the accusations, Ryanair, with its activity, risks extending «its market power to the offer of other tourist services (such as hotels and car rental) with possible damage serious and irreparable” to travel agencies and, consequently, also to other airlines and consumers. The “missed” savings on the cost of tickets would be between 40 and 50%.
Investments in Italy
«Ryanair means low fares, better accessibility and connectivity for tourism and business – replied Wilson -. we have based 11 aircraft here, we have grown in Forlì and we are also investing in Rimini, where others have not invested. We will continue to invest in Emilia-Romagna. The Milan court has already established that there is no abuse in our dominant position, we have never raised prices. Ask students at the University of Bologna how they get home or how their relatives come to visit them. After Covid we grew by 40%, but it’s not our fault if our competitors aren’t competitive.” He then told the students of the Alma Mater «the many job opportunities. We have a great plan investments in Italy and they continue to grow. We need lawyers, sales and marketing, accounting and administration people. And then we have all the maintenance in Bergamo.” According to Professor Anna Masutti, full professor of Shipping Law, “the objective is to offer students the possibility of coming into contact with companies also with a view to a future professional opportunity”.
Tags: bring lot traffic Bologna passengers complain airport improve
