Faroese flag carrier Atlantic Airways has added Milan to the list of destinations served direct from its mid-Atlantic base. The northern Italian city is the eighth international destination served from Vágar Airport and is the second southern European destination to be linked to the Faroe Islands since the introduction of flights to Barcelona last summer in the wake of the introduction of new Airbus A319 aircraft to its fleet.

Flights will operate weekly on Saturdays and will serve Malpensa Airport in the cosmopolitan Italian city. The direct service is enabled in large measure by Atlantic Airways’ investment in the latest satellite navigation technology, making it possible to operate to and from Vágar in visual and meteorological conditions that were not previously possible.

Besides offering a new southerly destination for Faroese holidaymakers, the airline selected Milan as its first Italian destination in part because of the opportunities to fly direct from one of Italy’s largest and most wealthy cities to a destination that offers something completely different.

“People sometimes refer to the Faroe Islands as a Nordic Shangri-La, which the world has not discovered yet. Many Europeans have heard about the Faroe Islands because The Faroe Islands participate in international football – and have scored against both Italy and Spain – but the North Atlantic islands themselves are even more exotic than the football team,” said Magni Arge, Chief Executive Officer, Atlantic Airways.

“In 2007 the National Geographic Traveler established a panel of experts whose task it was to choose the world’s most beautiful islands from a list of 111. Most people had expected the panel to choose such exotic islands as Hawaii or Bermuda, but the Faroe Islands took the prize. This was no surprise to us Faroe islanders as our scenery is breathtaking and our culture unspoilt,” he added.

Atlantic Airways was awarded the Airline of the Year 2012/13 Bronze Award by the European Regions Airline Association, partly in recognition of its pioneering and innovative approach, including the introduction of its bespoke satellite navigation aid (RNP AR 0.1), developed with Quovadis, a subsidiary of Airbus, making it the first airline in Europe to introduce such a system. “Atlantic Airways is an airline that is making a name for itself on the international arena – just like the 18 beautiful islands in the North Atlantic Ocean,” said Arge.

The airline is confident of the success of the Milan route and expects it to follow a similar growth trend as the Barcelona route launched in 2012. “The people of the Faroe Islands enjoy the good weather and sun at southern European destinations, but the Faroe Islanders are also a very hospitable people who welcome with open arms visitors from Italy who want to enjoy a fresh experience,” added Arge.

Atlantic Airways expects to operate three A319s and one Avro RJ from the fourth quarter of 2013: its fleet currently consists a single A319 aircraft, two Avro RJ85s and one Avro RJ100, as well as two helicopters which operate local helicopter services within the 18 Faroe islands as well as search and rescue services and support to the offshore oil exploration sector.

The carrier focuses primarily on providing the Faroe Islands with important air services to neighbouring countries, including Denmark, the UK, Iceland, and Norway but it is also involved in increasingly important activity in other markets including charter contracts throughout northern and central Europe.