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Local Italy
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Italy
FACT CHECK: Is air travel in Italy really becoming more pet-friendly?
Earlier this month, Italy announced that it had updated its air travel regulations for pets, allowing medium and large dogs to travel in the cabin alongside their owners for the first time. Italy's civil aviation authority ENAC confirmed the policy change in a press release that said pets could now be transported in cabins 'beyond the current limit of 8-10 kg'. "From now on dog and cat owners will have less difficulty flying with their four-legged friends," said Transport Minister and Deputy PM Matteo Salvini on his social media accounts. "Promise kept!" he added. The announcement was hailed by various travel news sites as a " landmark move set to transform pet-friendly travel" and a " pet travel revolution". Il Messaggero newspaper even went so far as to argue the move could have "significant economic repercussions" for the country, enabling Italy to become a European capital for pet tourism. But a closer look reveals that the rule change is unlikely to bring about the revolution these headlines suggest. As political fact-checking site Pagella Politica pointed out, the measure doesn't actually require airlines operating in Italy to increase their weight limit for pets, but merely gives them the option of doing so. Many airlines don't allow pets to travel on their planes at all unless they are service animals; for customers of these companies, the rule change won't make any difference. The new rules also say that pets "must be placed in approved carriers, which can also be placed on seats, without obstructing emergency exits or crew operations," and that these "must be secured with belts or specific anchoring systems." This means any carrier brought into the cabin must be able to fit on a plane seat, usually around 40-50cm in width: not large enough to contain a Labrador, let alone a Saint Bernard. Publicity stunt Salvini needs an easy win: his hard-right, anti-immigrant League party has waned in both popularity and influence in recent years, and is now polling at just over 8 percent, compared to 34 percent in 2019. When joining PM Giorgia Meloni's coalition government in 2022, he pushed hard to become interior minister, but instead found himself shunted into the unglamorous role of minister for transport and infrastructure. Since then, he has spent much of his time trying to cement his legacy through a contested project to build a bridge over the Strait of Messina, while periodically making headlines for arguing with other members of his own coalition. It's not surprising then that he'd make the most of the opportunity to win some support by throwing his weight behind as uncontroversial a campaign as increasing rights for pets and their owners.
The Independent
28-04-2025
- The Independent
Helicopters seized as ‘dangerous' tours over Pompeii halted
Police in Italy have reportedly seized eight helicopters following 'dangerous' tourist flights over the preserved Roman city of Pompeii. An investigation by local prosecutors in Torre Annunziata, Naples, led officers to seize the aircraft after alleged violations of aviation rules by pilots, reported The Times. The Operational Aeronaval Unit of the Guardia di Finanza of Naples has so far seized three helicopters at the request of the Oplontis Prosecutors Office, said local outlet Il Mattino. Four people were found to have broken flying rules before November 2024, including placing tourist luggage on flight controls and operating tours over the ancient ruins near heavily populated areas such as schools and public transport. The Italian city, an archaeological site buried in ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79, is a major tourist draw in Italy, with nearly four million visitors in 2023. Helicopter tours over Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius are offered by several companies in Italy, including Hoverfly and Helitaly. According to investigators, helicopters – one linked to a legal representative of the company Rotortech – held private licences, so were not authorised to operate commercially. Pilots must hold a license from the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) to conduct commercial flights under Italian law. Officials say several aircraft were flying unlicensed, had not undergone mandatory maintenance checks and were in areas where they did not have approval to operate. White petals were also allegedly thrown from a helicopter by pilots to celebrate a Pompeii wedding without authorisation from ENAC. The helicopter tours and 'illegal activities' were deemed 'extremely dangerous to public and private safety' said the public prosecutors' office. A helicopter tour company whose sightseeing aircraft broke apart and crashed in New York, killing the pilot and a family of five from Spain, shut down operations earlier this month. The FAA, in a statement posted on X, said it would launch an immediate review of New York Helicopter Tours' operating license and safety record. The move came hours after New York Senator Chuck Schumer had called on federal authorities to revoke the operating permits of New York Helicopter Tours.
