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July 18 - July 25, 2004 |
Making the case for T.O.-Rome stop
Rome mayor Walter Veltroni hopes to influence Alitalia's decision on air route crisis
By Niccoló Marras
Originally Published: 2004-01-11
Following the crisis concerning the air route between Toronto and Rome, Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni played a fundamental role in advocating the re-instalment of the suppressed flights. Tandem interviewed him in order to understand how the relationship between these two cities can develop.
Mr. Mayor, what have you been doing or planning to do in order to ensure that the direct flight between Rome and Toronto is maintained? That flight is an essential service to Italian-Canadians from central and southern Italy and to their relatives still living there.
"The City of Rome is closely following the events concerning the development of its airport system, based on Fiumicino and Ciampino. Unfortunately, in recent times the Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino) suffered a reduction in direct flights and airports served, which were transferred to the new Milan Malpensa hub in order to strengthen its role in international air travel."
Airlines claim that the future lies in Malpensa.
"Available data would suggest otherwise: last year, despite the threat of terrorism, the war on Iraq, and the SARS outbreak, Rome's two airports recorded close to 27 million passengers, 25 million in Fiumicino alone. That's 8 million more than in Malpensa, with a 0.3 percent increase in the first four months of 2003. The City of Rome has no direct role in the planning of the air routes from Fiumicino, nor on the industrial plans of our national airline, but we are pressuring the appropriate authorities for international connections to be reinstated. Fiumicino plays a strategic role in world tourism."
What about the flight for Toronto?
"In regards to Toronto, the presence of a strong Italian community there is an asset for our national airline, which can rely on a core base of passengers."
Could Alitalia's on-again, off-again presence leave a vacuum?
"The risk is that another airline might tap this market, and that this cancellation gets interpreted as a sign of lack of interest in the Italian-Canadian community in Toronto. There are cultural and emotional aspects: the existence of a direct air route with the capital of one's country of origin shortens the perceived distance, remarking the strong cultural, economic and political bonds between the two countries. This boosts the feeling of belonging to a national identity with continuing and readily apparent ties."
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