Alitalia will resume direct flights to Cyprus on June 8 with twice weekly overnight flights between Rome and Larnaca every Wednesday/Thursday and Saturday/Sunday.
The airline, 49% owned by Etihad, said that the new service represents an important launch pad for the further development of trade and tourism as Italy is one of Cyprus’s main trading partners. According to figures issued by the Italian Statistics Institute Istat, trade between the two countries, encouraged by common interests in the Mediterranean, continued to grow in 2015, with Italian exports standing at EUR 263 million and imports at 32 million.
The Italian energy giant ENI is a venture partner in the Eni-Kogas consortrium that has renewed its exploration license for oil and gas in the Cyprus offshore gasfields 2, 3 and 9.
“Today Cyprus and Italy are closer than ever before, thanks to the new Alitalia direct flight to Rome. I am sure that this new service will foster important benefits in terms of economical, trade and cultural exchanges, as well as increasing tourism between the two countries,” said Lorna Dalziel, Senior Vice President Global Sales of Alitalia and the first Cyprus Manager for Etihad when the UAE-based airline launched its flights to Larnaca.
Alitalia will operate two Rome-Larnaca flights a week, scheduled to ensure convenient connections at Alitalia’s Fiumicino hub to 89 destinations in Italy and Europe, the Middle and Far East, North Africa, Asia and the Americas, including Santiago, Mexico City (from June 16) and Beijing (from July 18). Passengers will also be able to take advantage of the new Transit Team, which will provide assistance to accompany them quickly to the departure gate for their connecting flight.
Flights to Larnaca will depart from Rome Fiumicino every Wednesday and Saturday at 22:35pm, arriving at 02:40am (local time) the following day, while Alitalia aircraft will take off from Larnaca on Thursdays and Sundays at 04:50am (local time), arriving in Rome at 07:15am. The service will be operated with a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft featuring Business and Economy. Alitalia’s MilleMiglia loyalty programme members will be able to earn and redeem miles on these new flights and benefit from the SkyTeam network and loyalty programme operated by Air France-KLM.
Tickets for the new flights may be purchased online at Alitalia.com or via travel agencies.
