Of the 8.7 million people who travelled between the US and Italy last year, 6.3 million – almost three in four – had to make at least one stopover, according to figures published by online platform Airline Data Inc.
The data, gathered between December 2023 and November 2024, showed that Italy is the second most popular European destination for travellers from the US, beaten only by the UK.
But Italy could be missing out on billions of euros in revenue from spending on airport stays, food and shopping due to a lack of direct flights, according to an analysis by Il Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Within Europe, only Greece, which has no national airline, has fewer direct connections to the US than Italy.
By contrast, more than half of passengers travelling between France and the US last year were able to take a direct flight, while two thirds of UK-US travellers flew direct.
READ ALSO: LISTED: The new direct flights linking Italy with the US in 2025
Some 36 percent of those travelling between Germany and the US and 45 percent of passengers between the US and Holland also flew direct, the data showed.
The most popular airport for layovers between the US and Italy was London Heathrow, with some 600,000 travellers passing through en route.
A 41-percent minority stake in Italy’s national flag carrier, ITA Airways, was sold to German airline Lufthansa in mid-January.
A joint venture between Lufthansa, United Airlines and Air Canada intended to boost transatlantic flights is expected to be joined by ITA no later than 2027, according to Il Corriere.
Major carriers including Lufthansa, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Emirates and ITA Airways currently offer direct US-Italy flights.
American Airlines alone offers dozens of direct flights between the US and Italy every week, with routes including New York JFK-Milan Malpensa and Philadelphia-Rome Fiumicino.
The number of direct US-Italy connections generally increases during peak travel season, as Italy is one of Europe's most popular holiday destinations for American travellers.
Several US airlines have announced they will launch new flights to Italy in summer 2025, with multiple direct routes connecting major American cities with popular Italian travel destinations.
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