Brescia Airport Faces Closure as Union Calls for Concession Transfer and Tender
The D’Annunzio airport needs to detach itself from the società del Catullo. This is the only way, according to union confederates, to halt the slow decline that is leading to the premature end of the Brescia facility, which has been penalized by management from Verona.
The three daily flights to Rome have been canceled; on the schedule, only the London destination remains for the entire day. This is hardly enough to justify the existence of an airport that cost local authorities, the Provincia and the Chamber of Commerce, 30 billion lire.
The best option, say union representatives, would be for the ministry to withdraw the concession, followed by an international tender to the highest bidder. Alternatively, a mixed Brescia-Verona management could be considered, provided that our territory has significant influence, while the current situation allows the Venetians “to pursue only their own interests.”
Proposals and Reactions
For example, the promise of a summer charter service from Montichiari, which was supposed to involve 24 flights, has been forgotten. “They kept all of them, even if they’re bursting at the seams,” union leaders Massimo Bresciani, Aldo Menini, and Eugenio Bertoglio from the Cgil-Cisl-Uil secretariats, along with industry representatives Angelo Andreoli and Claudio Lonati, stated at a press conference that marks the unions’ assertive involvement in the fate of the Brescia airport.
The first reaction was a breakdown of industrial relations by Fernando Sanson, president of Catullo Spa. A letter from the union offices was sent to the Ministry of Transport requesting a tender for the concession, which was temporarily held by Catullo but has long since expired.
Four criteria have been outlined for this tender: finding a manager representative of Brescia’s reality, ensuring adequate investments, priority over the Ghedi airport once demilitarized, and a rental fee in accordance with legal standards.
The ball, in short, now returns to the capital, where decisions are soon to be made about a package of eleven airports: Montichiari clearly stands out for its potential. It has a perfect runway, can currently handle a million passengers, and is located in an area sufficiently distant from residential zones.
