NEWS | Wednesday, 29 August 2007

Ryanair preparing for Bologna take-over

Ryanair could be preparing itself to take up a new route, its eighth from Malta, this time to fly to Bologna.
Sources told Business Today yesterday that Ryanair was expecting a go-ahead from government to take up the route, as Italian airline Meridiana – which at present operates the Bologna route – could be pulling out.
Sources mentioned 9 September as the last day Meridiana would fly to Bologna, and a website check yesterday would not list any flights from Malta after that date.
A Meridiana spokesperson yesterday could not confirm or deny the airline’s immediate plans. “I could just inform you that we are evaluating if we’ll operate or not this route in the future. But the summer balance is not really good.”
Ryanair currently flies to Pisa for travellers going to Florence. Since being the go-ahead to start operating in Malta with flights to Dublin and Luton (London), Ryanair has also added Girona (Barcelona), Bremen, Stockholm, and more recently Valencia.
But with less than two weeks to go, the government’s decision to allow Ryanair take up the route is still beckoning. Industry observers are said to be worried over delays from government ministers to make sure a replacement airline is ready to fill in if Meridiana decides to move out.