Aertirrena
Commenced operations1966 (1966)
Ceased operations1975 (1975)
Operating basesFlorence Airport
Fleet size3 – Yakovlev Yak-40
Key peopleFiorenza de Bernardi[1]

Aertirrena S.p.A. was a regional airline of Italy,[2] operating in the 1970s. It was one of the few Italian airlines to operate Soviet aircraft.

History

Fiorenza de Bernardi, first female commercial pilot from Italy, in the cockpit of an Aertirrena Yakovlev Yak-40 (I-JAKA)

Aertirrena was founded in 1966 by the Italian employer Fiorenza de Bernardi and former Aeroflot worker Piotr Ivanov. The airline was planned on operating services between Genoa, Rome, Milan, Athens and Florence, but with Soviet capital and investment of Aeroflot, holding a 30% stake, with the remaining 70% in the hands of de Bernardi.[3] The first flight of the airline took off in June 1970 between Genoa and Florence, with a Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft.[4] The airline grew considerably and incorporated another 2 Yak-40 (although both aircraft operated for Olympic Airways for a time[5]) and increased their flight frequency considerably.

Aertirrena finally consolidated as an important company and grew, with passenger numbers increasing year by year. However, the strong pressure and competition by Alitalia in the regional routes finally forced Aertirrena to cancel its service in 1975. In the aftermath of Aertirrena's bankruptcy di Bernardi and Ivanov founded Avioligure and obtained a contract with Aeroflot to lease to Avioligure the 3 Yak-40 that had been leased to Aertirrena.

Destinations

National

  • Florence
  • Genoa
  • Milan
  • Pisa

International

  • Athens

Fleet

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fiorenza de Bernardi". www.fiorenzadebernardi.it. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "Aertirrena". Airline History. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "I-JAKA Yak-40EC". Ed Coates Collection. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Info
  5. ↑ "Fiorenza de Bernardi". www.fiorenzadebernardi.it. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
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