At 11:00 on 15 December the Sardinian regional government opened the bid envelopes for its new ‘continuità territoriale’ air-service contracts linking Cagliari, Alghero and Olbia with Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate from March 2026. The public session, held in Cagliari, confirmed interest from multiple carriers despite an outstanding legal challenge by Aeroitalia against the underlying ministerial decree.
The €260-million tender introduces four daily time-bands—morning, late-morning, afternoon and late-evening—designed to allow same-day business trips to and from the island. Resident fares are capped at €30 one-way to Rome and €44 to Milan (taxes excluded) and, for the first time, discounted tickets will be available to non-resident workers stationed in Sardinia, military personnel, and amateur athletes travelling for competitions. Non-residents with family ties up to the third degree will pay only 30 percent above the resident fare ceiling, a measure aimed at supporting long-distance caregiving and family mobility.
Winning airlines will have to base aircraft locally and guarantee a minimum of 15 percent seat capacity during shoulder seasons, mitigating the chronic winter connectivity gap that has hampered corporate relocations and conference tourism. Employers with sites in Sardinia—especially in petrochemicals, defence and agri-tech—stand to benefit from more predictable travel budgets and better crew-rotation options.
![Sardinia’s Air-Connectivity Tender Opens, Promising €30 Resident Fares & Wider Eligibility]()
For international passengers who may still require a visa to enter Italy before continuing on to Sardinia, VisaHQ offers a fast, fully digital application process, status tracking and dedicated customer support, making it easier for companies and individuals alike to coordinate travel under the new connectivity scheme. Explore their Italian visa services at https://www.visahq.com/italy/.
The regional Transport Department expects the evaluation committee to award contracts by February 2026, leaving a four-week window for airlines to file schedules with ENAC. Mobility managers should monitor the tender outcome, as new operators may not be integrated into global distribution systems immediately and some corporate-fare agreements may need renegotiation.
Policy analysts note that the tender embeds social-discount logic that could serve as a template for other island territories, such as Sicily’s smaller airports, which are preparing similar public-service obligations for 2027.
The €260-million tender introduces four daily time-bands—morning, late-morning, afternoon and late-evening—designed to allow same-day business trips to and from the island. Resident fares are capped at €30 one-way to Rome and €44 to Milan (taxes excluded) and, for the first time, discounted tickets will be available to non-resident workers stationed in Sardinia, military personnel, and amateur athletes travelling for competitions. Non-residents with family ties up to the third degree will pay only 30 percent above the resident fare ceiling, a measure aimed at supporting long-distance caregiving and family mobility.
Winning airlines will have to base aircraft locally and guarantee a minimum of 15 percent seat capacity during shoulder seasons, mitigating the chronic winter connectivity gap that has hampered corporate relocations and conference tourism. Employers with sites in Sardinia—especially in petrochemicals, defence and agri-tech—stand to benefit from more predictable travel budgets and better crew-rotation options.
For international passengers who may still require a visa to enter Italy before continuing on to Sardinia, VisaHQ offers a fast, fully digital application process, status tracking and dedicated customer support, making it easier for companies and individuals alike to coordinate travel under the new connectivity scheme. Explore their Italian visa services at https://www.visahq.com/italy/.
The regional Transport Department expects the evaluation committee to award contracts by February 2026, leaving a four-week window for airlines to file schedules with ENAC. Mobility managers should monitor the tender outcome, as new operators may not be integrated into global distribution systems immediately and some corporate-fare agreements may need renegotiation.
Policy analysts note that the tender embeds social-discount logic that could serve as a template for other island territories, such as Sicily’s smaller airports, which are preparing similar public-service obligations for 2027.
