History
Aertirrena was founded in 1966 by the Italian employer Fiorenza de Bernardi and former Aeroflot worker Piotr Ivanov. The airline was planned on operating services between Genoa, Rome, Milan, Athens and Florence, but with Soviet capital and investment of Aeroflot, holding a 30% stake, with the remaining 70% in the hands of de Bernardi.[3] The first flight of the airline took off in June 1970 between Genoa and Florence, with a Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft.[4] The airline grew considerably and incorporated another 2 Yak-40 (although both aircraft operated for Olympic Airways for a time[5]) and increased their flight frequency considerably.
Aertirrena finally consolidated as an important company and grew, with passenger numbers increasing year by year. However, the strong pressure and competition by Alitalia in the regional routes finally forced Aertirrena to cancel its service in 1975. In the aftermath of Aertirrena's bankruptcy di Bernardi and Ivanov founded Avioligure and obtained a contract with Aeroflot to lease to Avioligure the 3 Yak-40 that had been leased to Aertirrena.
