Poste Air Cargo, named Mistral Air until 30 September 2019, is an Italian cargo and former passenger
airline
An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...
headquartered in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
and is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Poste italiane. Its
hubs are
Brescia Airport and
Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport
Rome–Fiumicino International Airport "Leonardo da Vinci" ( it, Aeroporto Internazionale di Roma–Fiumicino "Leonardo da Vinci"; ) is an international airport in Fiumicino, Italy, serving Rome. It is the List of the busiest airports in Italy, ...
in Rome.
The airline used to serve domestic scheduled and international charter passenger services which it ceased in mid 2018 while focusing on cargo operations since then.
History
Mistral Air was established in 1981 by actor and former swimmer
Bud Spencer
Carlo Pedersoli (31 October 1929 – 27 June 2016), known professionally as Bud Spencer, was an Italian actor, professional swimmer and water polo player. He was known for action-comedy and Spaghetti Western roles with his long-time film partn ...
(Carlo Pedersoli) and started operations in 1984.
It was wholly owned by
TNT N.V. until March 2002 when TNT sold a 75% stake to
Poste Italiane. The airline has also been contracted by the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
of the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
to fly
Pilgrims to holy sites such as
Lourdes
Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Châ ...
,
Fátima,
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...
,
Medjugorje
Medjugorje ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Međugorje, Међугорје, ) is a town located in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, about southwest of Mostar and east of the border with Croatia. The town is part of the Čitluk municipality ...
across
Mostar
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg
, image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...
, Israel/Palestine (Holy Land), Poland and Mexico. The first flight went from Rome to Lourdes on 27 August 2007 transporting the vicar of Rome, Cardinal
Camillo Ruini
Camillo Ruini (; born 19 February 1931) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was made a cardinal in 1991. He served as president of the Italian Episcopal Conference from 1991 to 2007 and as Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome fr ...
.
In May 2018, owner
Poste Italiane announced that Mistral Air will cease all scheduled and charter passenger flights to focus on cargo operations from now on. The airline has been loss-making for years and recently lost a
PSO contract for Italian domestic services as well.
Since October 1, 2019, Mistral Air was rebranded in Poste Air Cargo.
Destinations
As of April 2021, Poste Air Cargo operates scheduled cargo flights to the following domestic destinations as well as 7 international services from their hub in Rome:
Latest passenger destinations served by Mistral Air brand were Cagliari, Catania, Naples, Palermo, Perugia, Brescia and Pescara in Italy as well as Tirana in Albania which all ceased by August 2018.
Fleet
As of November 2020, the Poste Air Cargo fleet consists of the following aircraft:
References
External links
Official website
{{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation
Airlines of Italy
Cargo airlines
Airlines established in 1981
Companies based in Rome
Italian companies established in 1981