Ryanair said today it was ready to start 80 routes to two Milan airports as struggling Alitalia cuts back in Italy's industrial heartland.
The Irish carrier is prepared to use an additional 12 airliners at Milan's Malpensa airport and another six at Serio airport in Bergamo, a company spokesman said.
The expansion would be in reaction to Alitalia's plans to nearly halve its 340 daily flights from Malpensa, he said.
At Malpensa, Ryanair would launch 50 European flights and 10 to Italian destinations, the spokesman added.
Ryanair management is set to discuss the plan with executives from Milan airports operator SEA tomorrow in Dublin.
State-controlled Alitalia announced a survival plan in August that included scaling back its presence at Malpensa.