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Itavia

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Aerolinee Itavia
IATA ICAO Call sign
IH IHS ITAVIA
Founded1958 (1958)
Ceased operations1981 (1981)
HubsRome Fiumicino Airport
HeadquartersRome, Italy

Itavia was an Italian airline 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

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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.

Operations ceased again in 1965 and recommenced again in 1969 using Fokker F28 twin-jet airliners. In 1971 the Douglas DC-9-15 entered service. Other DC-9 versions operated were the Douglas DC-9-21, Douglas DC-9-31, Douglas DC-9-33 and Douglas DC-9-51. A total of 14 F28s and 11 DC-9s were used throughout its history.[2]

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.

Fleet

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Itavia Handley Page Herald at Manchester Airport in 1966
Itavia Fokker F28 at Geneva Airport in 1974
Itavia Douglas DC-9 I-TIGI at Pisa Airport in 1973. This aircraft was destroyed on Flight 870.

Various aircraft types were operated by Itavia over the years:[3]

Itavia Historical Fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Refs
Cessna 402B Utiliner 1 1967 1983 [4][5]
Dassault Falcon 20 1 1977 1978 [6]
de Havilland DH.104 Dove 1 1959 1960 [7][8]
de Havilland DH.114 Heron 7 1959 1964 [9][10]
Douglas C-47A Skytrain 2 1961 1962 [11][12]
Douglas C-47B Skytrain 2 1961 1963 [13][12]
Fokker F.28 Mk 1000 Fellowship 14 1969 1984 [14][15]
Handley Page HPR-7 Dart Herald 5 1963 1973 [16][17]
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15 5 1971 1983 [18][19]
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-21 1 1980 1980 [20][19]
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 4 1972 1981 [21][19]
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 1 1976 1977 [21][19]
McDonnell Douglas MD-81 1 1983 1983 [22]
Sud Aviation Caravelle VI-R 1 1975 1975 [23][24]

Incidents and accidents

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  • 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.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "World airline directory." Flight International. 26 July 1980. p. 261. "43 Via Sicilia, Rome, Italy. 60104." (Direct PDF Link, Archive)
  2. ^ Hengi, [page needed]
  3. ^ Klee, Ulrich & Bucher, Frank et al. jp airline-fleets international. Zürich-Airport, 1967–1979.
  4. ^ "Cessna 402B". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Cessna 402". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Dassault Falcon 20-5". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  7. ^ "de Havilland DH.104 Dove". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  8. ^ "De Havilland DH 104 Dove". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  9. ^ "de Havilland DH.114 Heron". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  10. ^ "De Havilland DH 114 Heron". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Douglas C-47A". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Douglas C-47/DC-3". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Douglas C-47B". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Fokker F28". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Fokker F-28". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Handley Page HPR.7 Herald 203". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  17. ^ "HP Dart Herald". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  18. ^ "Douglas DC-9-15". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  19. ^ a b c d "McDonnell Douglas DC-9". Itavia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Douglas DC-9-21". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  21. ^ a b "Douglas DC-9-30". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  22. ^ "McDonnell Douglas MD-81". rzjets. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  23. ^ "Sud SE-210 Caravelle VI-R". rzjets. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  24. ^ "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.
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Media related to Itavia at Wikimedia Commons

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