Itavia was an Italianairline founded in 1958 and based at Rome Fiumicino Airport. During the 1960s it became one of the main private airlines of Italy, until its collapse in the early 1980s, following the destruction of Flight 870, also known as the Ustica disaster. Itavia was headquartered in Rome.[1]
History
The airline was formed under the name of Società di Navigazione Aerea Itavia in 1958 and started domestic services a year later using de Havilland Dove and de Havilland DH.114 Heron aircraft. Operations were suspended in 1961, but resumed in 1962 under the name Aerolinee Itavia. The Herons were replaced in 1963 with the larger Handley Page Dart Herald, a pressurised turboprop liner. The Heralds remained in service until 1973.
Itavia operated a domestic network, augmented by charter flights and some European routes during the holiday season. In 1972 the company registered its head office in Catanzaro, primarily to benefit from subsidies and tax relief designed to assist businesses in the south of the country, but its administrative base and management team remained in Via Sicilia in Rome. Activity was again suspended in December 1980, following the crash of Flight 870 earlier that year and the deaths of all 81 people on board. The airline was replaced by Aermediterranea, a subsidiary of Alitalia and ATI, in 1981.
Various aircraft types were operated by Itavia over the years:[3]
Incidents and accidents
On October 14, 1960, a De Havilland 114 Heron 2, registered as I-AOMU departed from Rome to Genoa, and crashed on mountain (Monte Capanne), in the Elba's Isle. All 11 passengers and crew on board died.
On March 30, 1963, a DC-3, registered as I-TAVI departed from Pescara to Rome, and crashed on Monte Serra Alta, a mountain in nearby Sora. All 8 passengers and crew on board died.
On January 1, 1974, a Fokker F28, registered as I-TIDE departed from Bologna to Turin, and crashed on approach to Turin Airport. 38 of the 42 people on board died.
On June 27, 1980, Itavia Flight 870, a Douglas DC-9-15 flying from Bologna to Palermo crashed in the Tyrrhenian Sea for reasons unclear, killing all 81 people on board. An explosion caused either by a bomb on board or an air-to-air missile is considered the most likely explanation.
^Klee, Ulrich & Bucher, Frank et al. jp airline-fleets international. Zürich-Airport, 1967–1979.
^"Cessna 402B". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"Cessna 402". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"Dassault Falcon 20-5". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"de Havilland DH.104 Dove". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"De Havilland DH 104 Dove". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"de Havilland DH.114 Heron". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"De Havilland DH 114 Heron". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"Douglas C-47A". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ a b"Douglas C-47/DC-3". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"Douglas C-47B". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"Fokker F28". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"Fokker F-28". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"Handley Page HPR.7 Herald 203". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"HP Dart Herald". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"Douglas DC-9-15". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ a b c d"McDonnell Douglas DC-9". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"Douglas DC-9-21". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ a b"Douglas DC-9-30". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"McDonnell Douglas MD-81". rzjets. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
^"Sud SE-210 Caravelle VI-R". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^"SE Caravelle". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
Hengi, B.I. (2000). Vergangen, Vergessen, Vorbei [Airlines Remembered: Over 200 Airlines of the Past, Described and Illustrated in Colour]. Neil Lewis, translator. Leicester, England: Midland Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85780-091-3.
Media related to Itavia at Wikimedia Commons
