Italians are discovering Portugal and can fly, from this Friday, directly between Milan/Malpensa Airport and Milan Airport. Faro, after this new EasyJet route has been inaugurated. Portugal "is in fashion" in Italy and the airline is betting heavily on this market, and from July it will also call Faro to Naples.
Italy is «EasyJet's big bet this year here in Faro» and according to José Lopes, director of the company in Portugal, it was a winning bet. “Demand is being quite good. On this flight we had 154 passengers on arrival and 104 on departure. These are very good occupancy rates for a first flight. This is showing that there was a demand not only towards Italy – Portugal, which is the strongest sense, but also in the opposite direction. There was an automatic reaction from the Italian community residing in the Algarve and from the Portuguese who want to know Italy when they practically filled their outbound flight», he adds.
The Milan/Malpensa-Faro, inaugurated today, has two weekly operations, Monday and Friday, with the connection Faro-Naples, which will open on the 24th of July, will have three weekly flights, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Any changes in the future will depend on the performance of the routes.
A performance that, according to Francesco Berrettini, Italy's honorary consul in the Algarve, has everything to be positive. “There is an increase in Italians visiting Portugal and the Algarve. Italians are very surprised by the beauty of the landscape and the way they are received. They come, try the food they didn't know, and fall in love. They go for a walk, they discover new things that were never talked about in Italy and, in the end, when they take stock, they discover a wonderful country. A group of Italians is being created who are coming here for the beauty, culture, gastronomy and because they like the country».
According to the Italian businessman, «Portugal is becoming better known in Italy. It entered the main television programs with a program dedicated to Tourism and the territory and is entering fashion. Many people are coming because they saw something on television».
The opening of these direct routes, according to Francesco Berrettini, "helps a lot the tourist flow in the Algarve, both for Italians who come on vacation, but also for those who are here."
And the number of Italians living in the Algarve has increased a lot in recent years. According to the honorary consul, «the consulate in the Algarve is significantly more sought after than four or five years ago».
Retired people were the first to discover the Algarve, but now «there is a mix. There are also children and grandchildren and the community is increasing demographic differentiation. They also travel for economic reasons, to set up their businesses. There is activity in catering, there are doctors and there is also a bet on other sectors such as tourism», he concludes.
Alberto Mota Borges, Director of the Airport of Faro, also highlights the relevance of this new operation that “because it reinforces the connection to a growing market, creating new connections and more connectivity”. The official also congratulated the airline for the effort «in the diversification of the offer to and from the Airport of Faro».
Those who arrived on the inaugural flight from Milan/Malpensa will have been pleased with the reception to the Algarve. There was music, flowers were distributed, and gifts such as hats and sunglasses. Those who left also had reasons to be homesick, since there was cake and a cocktail while waiting for boarding.
See in the photo gallery how the inaugural flight between Milan/Malpensa and Faro:
Photos: Goncalo Dourado|Sul Informação
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