Emirates, Etihad seek greater access to Italian airports

Dubai government-owned Emirates wants to sharply increase its flight slots at Italian airports and make it the airline's European port of entry, the Italian government said on Monday.

It said the move could boost tourism to Italy from Asian and Gulf countries and comes at a time when the bankrupcy of national carrier Alitalia has left the country without a major international airline hub.

Emirates, which has less than 10 Italian slots a week at present, has asked for slots to cover 21 weekly flights each to Rome and Milan and 14 for Venice. It also plans 28 weekly cargo flights.

Abu Dhabi's state-owned Etihad Airways has also sought seven flights each for Rome and Milan, the government said.

"This means the United Arab Emirates have chosen Italy as the port of entry for Europe," Industry Undersecretary Adolfo Urso said in a statement, adding those plans were in line with efforts to relaunch Italy's national carrier Alitalia.

It was unclear whether any "port of entry" deal envisaged granting Emirates and Etihad onward flights inside Europe.

Urso issued the statement after meeting United Arab Emirates Economy Minister Sultan bin Said Al-Mansouri for talks in Abu Dhabi.

Alitalia, which is being bought by the CAI consortium of Italian businessmen, is expected to cede slots as part of the takeover, though no decision has been made yet on how many or which ones will be shed.

Alitalia's bankruptcy commissioner has said the bankrupt carrier's slots are worth a total of 550 million euros ($708 million), or about 4.2 million euros each.

Emirates reported earlier this month that its net profit for the first half of the financial year had plummeted 88 percent to 77 million dollars (60 million euros) because of high oil prices.

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