As the Easter period approaches, the problem of airfares to and from our region promptly arises again, forcing the unfortunate Calabrians (and not only) to bear exorbitant costs well above the current inflation rate.
“Indeed – he underlined Nicola Coppoletta President of Adoc (Association for the defense of consumer orientation) Calabria e Catanzaro – the various surveys in this regard show an increase in airline tickets of over 11% compared to the same period in 2023, but to which another 4/5 percentage points must be added for the Easter holiday period.
Returning to and departing from Calabria is a real drain: the fares sometimes exceed 500 euros, with Reggio Calabria airport being first in Italy in the increase ranking”.
“Many people give up on returning”
“For many Calabrians (students, workers and families), returning to their homeland to spend a few days with their loved ones has become a luxury that not everyone can afford – added Coppoletta -, to the point that many now give up these occasions or customs . Gone are the days when, thanks to the so-called low-cost routes, it was easy and cheap to return home.
But all this also affects many Italian and foreign tourists who, by not ensuring their presence in our region, penalize various sectors, especially tourism, with serious economic repercussions”.
The repercussions: “Decreasing air traffic”
“The above – continued President Adoc Calabria and Catanzaro – has led to a significant drop in air traffic affecting the Calabrian airports of Lamezia Terme (approximately -16%) e Reggio Calabria (January 2024 data), and with only the stopover of Crotone which marks a positive sign probably due to the launch of new destinations.
These truly worrying data see Calabria increasingly ‘distant’ and forced to deal with a series of problems that are no longer sustainable: those due to the emigration of its young people, who, in addition to being forced to abandon their land due to lack of work, they also find themselves unable to return, even for short periods; the simultaneous isolation and emptying of many Calabrian municipalities, which at least in periods such as those of the holidays mentioned, recorded a repopulation even if short-lived; the loss of extra-regional presences which could ‘extend’ tourism that is not just that of the summer periods.
It is up to the national and regional institutions – concluded Coppoletta – and to those responsible for managing the airport sector, to implement effective and synergistic actions that can reverse a negative trend that has now become structural”.
