Chapter 13 - Italy

The administration of Italy’s air navigation sector is guaranteed by the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (‘ENAC’), the National Agency for the Safety of Flight (ANSV) and by the Aero Club of Italy (AeCI). The management of air navigation in its operational profiles has been referred to ENAC. ENAC is the primary agency entrusted with the responsibility of regulating aviation in Italy, as provided by Article 687 of the Italian Navigation Code (‘INC’) and Legislative Decree No. 250/97. ENAC is the competent authority for supervision and regulation of air carriers and has power to impose fines for breach of regulations. In particular, ENAC is responsible for imposing fines on airlines that are in breach of Regulation 261/2004. Moreover, the Passenger’s Charter and the Charter of Airport Standard Services have been promulgated by ENAC. The Passenger’s Charter is practically a vade mecum of national, European and international regulation on air passenger protection, detailing the claims and compensation procedures available to passengers in case of non-compliance with the above regulation. The Charter of Airport Standard Services sets out the minimum quality standards airport operators are bound to comply with in providing their services. Another agency that comes into play in the aviation sector’s regulatory domain is the Italian Antitrust Authority. An independent authority established by Law No. 287/1990, it is tasked with clamping down on unfair commercial practices and misleading advertisements, and is empowered to levy fines, if necessary. The Authority has already fined several Italian air carriers for unfair commercial practices relating to underpricing or mispricing of tariffs and other reimbursable elements of cost, which tends to prejudice the passenger’s interests, in case of flight cancellation. The Authority also considers unfair the practice of acceptance of insurance policies by passengers, given that this service is normally preselected during the carrier’s online booking process. As a consequence, consumers who are not interested in purchasing the service would be forced to opt out. More recently, in a historic decision, the Italian Antitrust Authority awarded seven slots that were previously held by the former Italian flag carrier to a low-cost European air carrier, thus effectively enabling it to consolidate its position in the Italian market. The Italian administrative courts of jurisdiction are the Regional Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court. The Regional Administrative Court has jurisdiction over ENAC’s and the Italian Antitrust Authority’s decisions. The judgments issued by the Regional Administrative Court can be challenged before the Supreme Administrative Court.