Grimaldi's Sardinia success shows there's often no need for taxpayer subsidies on island routes

摘要

The Grimaldi Group has for years battled against the nonsensical handing out of taxpayer money to loss-making carriers on routes that are perfectly viable without them. Whereas subsidies for non-viable services may be justified to ensure vital maritime connectivity in some cases, on other routes governments tend to throw money out of the window while propping up poor performers. This has long been the case on routes between mainland Italy and its major islands, in particular Sardinia, where subsidies of over €70 million a year have traditionally been doled out.