More than 86,000 people will board on average each day throughout the month of August, on nearly 500 direct flights between Italy and Spain. That is more people than the inhabitants of cities like Como or Fiumicino. The introduction of reciprocal controls at the borders between the two European countries will have to cope with these daily volumes, according to an analysis by Corriere based on official data and specialized platforms.
The connection between Italy and Spain is not only one of the busiest air routes in Europe. It is also one of the most important for intercontinental connections: not only are there those who fly directly — that is, from an Italian city to a Spanish one, and vice versa — but also thousands of people who pass through the major airports of both countries every day to travel outside Europe or return to the continent.
In the week of July 31 to August 6 this year, there was an average of 540 direct flights between the two Mediterranean countries, in both directions, according to data provided by Eurocontrol, the European agency that coordinates air traffic on the continent. The figure represents an increase of 9% compared to last year and 25% compared to the same week in 2019.
As for passenger volume, airlines have put on sale throughout August about 2.9 million seats on direct flights between the two countries, according to data provided to Corriere by Cirium, a company specialized in air transport analysis. With the current plane occupancy rate, above 92%, this means just under 2.7 million passengers traveling in both directions.
THE FIGURES
Low-cost companies Ryanair, Vueling, and Wizz Air would be the most affected by the controls — they offer the highest number of seats — but the consequences could be even greater for traditional companies, such as Iberia, ITA Airways, and Air Europa. Their business model is based on passing passengers through their major connecting airports to then board them on intercontinental flights. In the case of short layovers, the risk of missing the next flight becomes very high with these controls.
Rome-Fiumicino-Madrid, Rome-Fiumicino-Barcelona, Milan-Malpensa-Barcelona, Milan-Malpensa-Madrid, and Rome-Fiumicino-Ibiza are the busiest routes this month, according to Cirium.
In total, there are 172 direct connections between 29 Italian cities and 22 Spanish locations.
