Meridiana

History

The airline began as Alisarda, founded in March 1963 by the Aga Khan as an air-taxi and charter operator serving Sardinia's Costa Smeralda from its Olbia base. It merged with Spanish carrier Universair in 1991 and was renamed Meridiana, expanding into scheduled European operations over the following two decades. In 2011 Meridiana absorbed a second Italian carrier also called Air Italy, and after a 2013 recapitalization involving the Aga Khan-linked ownership group, it fully adopted the Air Italy name on 1 March 2018, taking on Qatar Airways as a 49% shareholder (via AQA Holding) alongside majority shareholder Alisarda in a bid to become Italy's new long-haul flag carrier.

Current Operations

Meridiana no longer exists as an operating airline under either its old or Air Italy name: following heavy losses under the Air Italy rebrand, its shareholders resolved to cease flight operations on 11 February 2020, with the final flight landing on 26 February 2020 and Italian authorities formally suspending its operating licence in August 2020. The closure predated the COVID-19 shutdown of Italian aviation but was compounded by it; no direct successor carrier inherited its routes or brand, and its former codeshare partner and part-owner Qatar Airways was not otherwise affected.

Last verified 2026-09-02· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.

Serves These Profiled Airports23

Sample Routes4