Italy’s airline market is in one of its strongest positions since before the pandemic, with summer 2026 capacity continuing to outpace the wider European recovery despite lingering concerns over jet fuel shortages.
Analysis of OAG Schedules Analyser data shows Italy will have about 39.9 million departure seats in the second quarter (Q2) of 2026, up 6.6% year on year and almost 26% above the same period in 2019. That growth puts Italy among Europe’s strongest post-pandemic aviation recovery markets, underpinned by resilient leisure demand and sustained expansion from low-cost operators.
LCCs and ULCCs account for about 61.9% of all departure seats from and within Italy in Q2 2026, up from 60.7% a year earlier and well above the 48.7% share recorded in Q2 2019.
Ryanair remains the dominant carrier in the Italian market, holding a 35.5% share of all departure seats in Q2 2026. That is up slightly from about 35% a year earlier and reflects the addition of more than 1 million seats year on year.
Wizz Air and easyJet remain Italy’s next-largest low-cost operators, with Wizz holding a 9.9% share of total departure capacity, up from 7.7% a year ago, after adding about 1.05 million seats year on year. EasyJet accounts for 8.8% of capacity, maintaining a significant presence but growing at a slower pace than its Eastern European rival.
Italy’s flag-carrier ITA Airways holds a 9.9% share of Italy’s departure capacity in Q2 2026, broadly level with Wizz Air but still significantly smaller than Alitalia was before the pandemic. ITA is offering about 3.9 million departure seats in the second quarter, compared with roughly 6.1 million operated by Alitalia in Q2 2019.
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However, while ITA is smaller than its predecessor, it is structurally different. Alitalia tried to compete across a broad European short-haul network while also maintaining long-haul operations. ITA has taken a narrower approach, focusing on core domestic and business routes, expanding long-haul flying and feeding Lufthansa Group hubs where it does not serve markets directly.
Lufthansa completed its purchase of a 41% stake in ITA in January 2025, giving the German group a foothold in one of Europe’s largest aviation markets. It now has the option to increase the share to 90%.
After joining Star Alliance on April 1, ITA now contributes more than 350 daily flights into the alliance, primarily through Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate, both of which are already served by 17 Star airlines.
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