Poste Air Cargo
Poste Air Cargo, named Mistral Air until 30 September 2019, is an Italian cargo and former passenger airline headquartered in Rome and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Poste italiane. Its hubs are Brescia Airport and Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport 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 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 of the Vatican to fly Pilgrims to holy sites such as Lourdes, Fátima, Santiago de Compostela, Medjugorje across Mostar, Palestine, Poland and Mexico. The first flight went from Rome to Lourdes on 27 August 2007 transporting the vicar of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini.
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.
at Naples Airport in the last Mistral Air livery
Since October 1, 2019, Mistral Air was rebranded in Poste Air Cargo.
Destinations
As of November 2019, Poste Air Cargo operates scheduled cargo flights to 8 domestic destinations:Country | City | Airport | Notes | Refs |
Italy | Bari | Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport | ||
Italy | Brescia | Brescia Airport | ||
Italy | Cagliari | Cagliari Elmas Airport | ||
Italy | Catania | Catania Fontanarossa Airport | ||
Italy | Lamezia Terme | Lamezia Terme International Airport | ||
Italy | Naples | Naples International Airport | ||
Italy | Palermo | Falcone Borsellino Airport | ||
Italy | Rome | Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport |
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 2019, the Poste Air Cargo fleet consists of the following aircraft:Aircraft | Image | In Service | Orders | Notes |
ATR 72-500 | 3 | — | ||
Boeing 737-400F | 3 | — | ||
Total | 6 | — |