TORONTO – From today the sky in Toronto is more “azzurro”. And for Italian-Canadians eager to rediscover their origins, there is one more opportunity. 

ITA Airways, the Italian airline, has in fact made its debut on the Canadian market: after the inaugural direct flight Rome-Toronto, which left from Fiumicino airport, today in the afternoon it was the turn of the one connecting Pearson to the Italian capital, which took off at 4.40pm.

For the occasion, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the departure gate of Terminal 1 in Toronto Airport in the presence of Emiliana Limosani, Chief Commercial Officer ITA Airways and CEO of Volare, Luca Zelioli, Consul General of Italy, Ivana Jelinic, CEO of the Italian National Tourist Board ENIT, Gianluca Caramanna, Member of Italian Parliament and Advisor to the Minister of Tourism, Kurush Minocher, Executive Director, Customer Experience and Airline Relations, GTAA, Vincent Crisanti, Councillor, City of Toronto, Pierfrancesco Carino, VP International Sales ITA Airways and Massimo Allegri, Regional Manager Americas ITA Airways.

“The launch of ITA Airways’ flights between Canada and Italy comes in response to the significant demand for travel between the two nations, driven in part by the substantial Italian Canadian population – stated Emiliana Limosani, Chief Commercial Officer ITA Airways and CEO of Volare – . With our direct flight, we plan to transport to up to 2 million of Italian Canadian passengers who travel between Italy and Canada annually”.

“The inauguration marks another milestone for bilateral relations between Canada and Italy, partners and allies – said Luca Zelioli, Consul General of Italy – . The new flight will increase opportunities for tourists to and from Italy; business and cultural exchanges will as well greatly profit from this additional connection. ITA Airways is bringing closer two great countries and two great cities, Toronto and Rome”.

“This new air service not only facilitates access to Italian territory, but also contributes to strengthening our competitive position in the international tourism scene, positioning Italy as a destination of first choice for travelers from all over the world” said Ivana Jelinic, CEO of ENIT.

In the afternoon, the party moved downtown, Toronto, to the Italian Cultural Institute (IIC), where – after an introduction by the director of the IIC, Veronica Manson – the leaders of ITA Airways and Enac, councilor Crisanti, the Honorable Caramanna and Consul Zelioli explained all the details of the initiative.

“This inaugural flight represents an exciting and eagerly anticipated addition in filling a much-needed gap” said City Councillor Vincent Crisanti. “ITA Airways is addressing a longstanding void in the travel market, strengthening our economic and cultural ties with Italy that will pave the way for enhanced collaboration between the City of Toronto and Rome, Italy” (watch the video below).

Also present was the head of the “Turismo delle Radici” project of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Giovanni Maria De Vita, who underlined the opportunity offered by this new connection in terms of “Turismo delle Radici” (the “roots” tourism), also announcing a series of discounts and promotions for all Italian Canadians wishing to visit their homelands in Italy. “We are pleased – said De Vita – with ITA Airways’ decision to resume the direct Rome-Toronto and Toronto-Rome connection which has been missing for many years: it is a great opportunity to connect an important community with more than two million people to Italy. of people. And this happens precisely in 2024 which is the year of Italian origins in the world. We are organizing a series of events to give a warm welcome to our compatriots abroad, preparing tools to organize ‘roots trips’ to Italy, such as the italea.com platform which will allow our compatriots abroad to organize these trips again before leaving for Italy. Furthermore, in the next few days we will formalize an agreement with ITA Airways to guarantee discounts and promotions to Italian Canadians wishing to visit their places of origin in Italy”.

The new Toronto – Rome Fiumicino flight is operating six weekly frequencies, with daily flights from June to September and five weekly roundtrip flights in October: there will be a stop in the winter, “but if the demand from the Italian community is high – said Pierfrancesco Carino of ITA Airways – obviously we will be ready to give answers to our customers”.

In May, the schedule includes departure from Toronto at 4:40 pm and arrival in Rome Fiumicino at 7:15 am (local time). Return from Rome Fiumicino is at 10:15 am (local time) with landing in Toronto at 2:05 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, plus Wednesday from June.

Tickets for all the new flights can be purchased through the ITA Airways sales channels, on the official ita-airways.com  website  and via the Company’s Customer Center, travel agencies and airport ticket offices.

In the pics, some moments of the presentation of the Toronto-Rome route at the Italian Cultural Institute in Toronto (photos: Marzio Pelù / Corriere Canadese)