Poste Air Cargo

Poste Air Cargo, named Mistral Air until 30 September 2019, is an Italian cargo and former passenger airline headquartered in Rome[3] and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Poste italiane. Its hubs are Brescia Airport and Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome.[4] 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.

Poste Air Cargo
IATA ICAO Callsign
M4[1] MSA[2] MISTRAL WINGS
Founded1981
HubsBrescia Airport
Fleet size6
Parent companyPoste italiane
HeadquartersRome, Italy
Key peopleBud Spencer, Founder
Websiteposte.it/posteaircargo

History
Mistral Air logo, used until September 2019

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.[4] 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 (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.[5]

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.[6][7]

An ATR 72-500 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
ItalyBariBari Karol Wojtyła Airport
ItalyBresciaBrescia AirportHub
ItalyCagliariCagliari Elmas Airport
ItalyCataniaCatania Fontanarossa Airport
ItalyLamezia TermeLamezia Terme International Airport
ItalyNaplesNaples International Airport
ItalyPalermoFalcone Borsellino Airport
ItalyRomeLeonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino AirportHub

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:[8]

Mistral Air fleet
Aircraft Image In Service Orders Notes
ATR 72-500 3 —
Boeing 737-400F 3 —
Total 6 —

References
  1. "Airline and Airport Code Search". IATA. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  2. "Elenco delle imprese titolari di licenza di trasporto aereo". Italian Civil Aviation Authority. 3 June 2016. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  3. "Mistral Air - Contatti". Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  4. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 10 April 2007. p. 51.
  5. Willey, David (27 August 2007). "Vatican flight service launches". BBC News. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  6. "Il piano Mistral Air Charter addio, non resta che il cargo".
  7. "Mistral Air: Bud-Spencer-Airline fliegt nur noch Pakete". 3 June 2018.
  8. "Poste Air Cargo Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 22 November 2019.

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