Meridiana hits out at airline subsidies

Roberto Scaramella, chief executive of Meridiana, has publically criticized subsidies granted by local authorities and small airports to attract foreign airlines, such as Ryanair. Scaramella says although Meridiana is on target to halve operating losses of €190m posted last year, such subsidies are harming the recovery. Meridiana has cut 1,000 jobs, reduced its fleet from 37 to 29 aircraft, cut loss-making routes and added new foreign destinations with a focus on high-yield charter activities. These moves have helped the airline to boost passenger numbers by 10% to 4.2m in 2013. However Scaramella told the Financial Times that: “It is impossible to turn