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Development Plans For Air Transport in the Aosta Valley

With a dedicated press conference at the Billia Hotel in Saint Vincent (Aosta Valley, Italy), Air Vallée – the airline of the Alpine region – announced the addition of the Sunday frequence, from November 28, to the Aosta-Rome flight, now operated from Monday to Saturday. The new service, operated with Dornier 328-300 31-seat aircraft, is aimed to leading travel agencies offering “white weeks” in the renowned ski resorts of the Aosta Valley.

Air Vallée is an important player in other tourism and transport activities present in the Alpine region. The airline is a main shareholder in the Helops helicopter company, set up in 2003, which now flies the aircraft previously operated by Air vallée in eliski activities. The airline also owns the hotel serving the Aosta airport and provides the aeronautic services in the same airport.

The “Corrado gex” regional airport, very close to Aosta, will be privatized in the near future, with the local administration maintaining a 49% stake, the remaining being acquired by Air Vallée. This renewed partnership will be focused in developing the airport following the indications of a new master plan. The first stage is centered, in the very near future, on the certification of the runway lighting system; in 2005 VOR/DME equipments will be installed and, in 2006, the runway will be lenghtened from 1,240 to 1,500 metres.

Investments ranging from 20 to 50 million euro will be fielded to realize the planned improvements, aimed to guarantee the long awaited “take-off” of the Aosta Valley’s only airport. At last it will be accessible, during the winter season, to charter flights from Northern Europe. Air Vallée, from its side, would be encouraged to invest in fleet diversification (Bombardier Q400 70-seater appears to be the main target) and to further expand its service network.

In the picture: From left to right: Air Vallée Operations Director, Cdr. Marcello Galli; the Chairman of the Aosta Valley’s Tourism/Transport committee, Luciano Caveri; the Air Vallée CEO, Francesco Cimminelli, and the airline’s Managing Director, Claudio Coriasco, at the press conference held in Saint Vincent, on November 16, 2004. (Aeromedia)

(Aeromedia, November 2004)