ITA Airways. Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK After increasing flight frequencies to India and Thailand last August, and recently announcing more than 100 destinations as a result of a new agreement with Spanish carrier Volota, Italy's national carrier ITA Airways continues to expand its intercontinental operations in the upcoming winter season.
The company announced that, as of yesterday, April 22, 2026, it began selling flight tickets on the new direct Rome Fiumicino-Santo Domingo route. This is the first significant addition ahead of the 2026-2027 winter season.
The new route will begin operating on November 30, 2026, with one weekly flight on Mondays, and will increase to two weekly flights, with an additional flight on Sundays from December 14 through the end of March 2027. The flights will be operated via Airbus A330neo aircraft, which feature three Business, Premium Economy and Economy classes.
The company said that the new route to the Dominican Republic marks ITA Airways' entry into Central America, further strengthening its presence in the Americas. The company already operates direct flights to the United States, Canada, Brazil and Argentina, particularly popular destinations for Italian travelers, as well as key markets with large populations of Italian descent.
Emiliana Limozani, VP of Commercial, Network and Incentive Management at ITA Airways: "With Santo Domingo, we are strengthening our presence in the Americas and enhancing our offering to and from Rome Fiumicino with a highly attractive new destination,” said Emiliana Limosani, Chief Commercial, Network & Incentive Management Officer of ITA Airways. “This route is designed for our customers, who will be able to plan their winter holidays with the convenience of a direct flight and the comfort of our Airbus A330neo. We are confident these flights will also be of great interest to our partners in the tourism industry, who can rely on a high-quality product. This new route is part of the ongoing development of our intercontinental network, one of the key pillars of the Company’s commercial strategy”.
Today, April 23, the company introduced SITA OptiFlight, a new AI-powered tool aimed at saving fuel and reducing emissions in 2026. The new tool works using "aircraft-specific and real-time weather data to improve climb performance and deliver measurable emission reductions."
The new feature will be rolled out across the airline's entire fleet, calculating "the most efficient climb profile for each flight by adjusting airspeed, acceleration, altitude transitions, and climb Mach," based on predictive analytics, machine learning, and 4D weather data.
So far, in 2025 and 2026, the company recorded important emission reductions, "and is on track to deliver more than 7,100 tons of fuel savings and over 22,100 tons of CO₂."