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On July 22, 2025, Aeroitalia announced that it signed a new interline and special prorate agreement (SPA) with Qatar Airways, which, according to the Italian airline, operates flights to more than 170 global destinations from Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH).
While details are scarce, Aeroitalia, which took off on its first flight in 2022, said that passengers could book flights through travel agents between routes from Catania Airport (CTA), Comiso Airport (CIY), Cagliari Elmas Airport (CAG), Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (OLB), and Palermo Airport (PMO) and Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) and Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) onto Qatar Airways’ international network via DOH from the latter two Italian airports.
Massimo Di Perna, the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Aeroitalia, remarked that the agreement marked a fundamental milestone in Aeroitalia’s international growth. The Italian carrier had also signed an interline and SPA agreement with Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines, which went into effect on July 1, 2025.
According to Aeroitalia, the latter will enable passengers to access new connection options between the global networks of Air France, Delta Air Lines, and KLM, as well as their destinations in Italy. Aeroitalia’s Italian domestic route network comprises 15 routes, five of which do not depart from or arrive at Milan Bergamo Airport (BGY), Milan Linate Airport (LIN), MXP, or FCO.
Its international network includes five destinations: Bacau George Enescu International Airport (BCM), Bucharest Henri Coand? International Airport (OTP), Brno-Tu?any Airport (BRQ), Lublin Airport (LUZ), and Ibiza Airport (IBZ).
Nevertheless, while Qatar Airways has not announced the interline and SPA on its public channels, for the Qatari carrier, this is another attempt at expanding in Italy via a partnership. On October 1, 2017, the airline announced that it had strengthened its commitment to the Mediterranean country by finalizing the acquisition of a minority stake (49%) in AQA Holding, the parent company of Meridiana Fly, which later rebranded as Air Italy.
At the time, Air Italy operated flights on only two routes to the United States, namely from Naples Airport (NAP) and PMO to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The Italian airline eventually added five ex-Qatar Airways Airbus A330-300 aircraft to its fleet in 2018, per planespotters.net, enabling the airline to add flights from MXP to JFK, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Miami International Airport (MIA), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
However, amidst the United States government’s scrutiny into the finances of Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways, with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines having accused the Middle East trio of unfair subsidies from their respective governments, Qatar Airways had to defend its decision to acquire 49% of Air Italy’s parent company publicly.
In a statement on April 11, 2019, the Qatari carrier stated that its minority stake in Air Italy is compliant with the US-Qatar Open Skies agreement and US-Qatar understandings, the latter of which included a provision not to add more fifth-freedom flights between Europe and the US. “Unfounded claims that Qatar Airways’ investment in Air Italy violates the Understandings are entirely false,” it said, adding that it “does not codeshare on any of Air Italy’s flights to the United States, and has no plans to do so.”
On May 10, 2019, the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), applauded the US government’s decision to review Qatar Airways’ investment in Air Italy. The pilot union alleged that the Italian carrier’s “operations depend on capital provided by Qatar Airways and are made possible with cash received from the Qatari government, in contrast to U.S. airlines, which make investments based on their own earnings in the commercial marketplace.”
Eventually, in February 2020, Air Italy folded. Qatar Airways’ statement at the time read that it had always “believed in the company and in its potential, supporting management’s proposed business plan with a view to improving Air Italy’s growth and job creation, with the addition of long-haul routes and numerous in-flight service improvements, in line with Qatar Airways’ globally renowned high standards.”
Now, Qatar Airways operates flights to three Italian airports: FCO, MXP, and Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE), which limits options for its passengers looking to connect via DOH to one of the largest tourism markets in the world and its secondary cities. With the agreement with Aeroitalia, this could change significantly.
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