DUBAI- Emirates (EK) is seeking fifth freedom rights to fly from Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) to Lima (LIM), and Italian airlines are joining forces to stop it.
ITA Airways (AZ), Neos (NO), and Aeroitalia (XZ) have asked Italy’s civil aviation authority, ENAC, to reject the request, while Lombardy leaders support the route.
Emirates Wants More Flying Rights From Milan
Emirates already operates one fifth freedom flight from Milan, a service to New York JFK. It now wants to add Lima. Corriere della Sera revealed in early August that Emirates asked ENAC to extend the rights it uses for the New York route to a Milan to Lima leg. The plan would extend one of its three daily Dubai to Milan flights on to Lima.
Fifth freedom rights let an airline sell tickets on every leg of a journey. On a Dubai to Milan to Lima flight, Emirates could sell seats from Dubai to Milan, Dubai to Lima, and Milan to Lima.
In August, PYOK reported that the Lima service could be the first step in a wider expansion across the Americas.
Reports name Los Angeles, São Paulo, Santiago de Chile, and Mexico City as possible further destinations. Emirates has made no decision on these routes and says it has no immediate plans.
The Lima route has a clear market behind it. About 150,000 passengers a year travel between Milan and Lima on connecting itineraries. Milan is also short of long-haul flights. When Alitalia relaunched as ITA Airways, the new carrier concentrated its intercontinental flying in Rome.
Italian Airlines Ask ENAC to Block Request
ITA Airways, Neos, and Aeroitalia asked ENAC not to authorize Emirates’ fifth freedom rights for the Lima leg. ITA is the new national flag carrier. It is jointly owned by Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance and Lufthansa.
Neos sent ENAC a letter on October 8, signed by chairman Lupo Rattazzi, citing a competitive imbalance and the national interest. Neos argues that granting Lima would turn Malpensa into a European platform for Emirates’ intercontinental flights.
ITA has its own plans for the market. It is studying a Rome Fiumicino to Lima flight, possibly from summer 2027.
Not everyone in Italy opposes the plan. Lombardy governor Attilio Fontana said Malpensa deserves more routes and supports the Lima line as a link to South America and Dubai.
Milan mayor Beppe Sala told ITA not to overreach and warned that Milan institutions would need to reconsider their position if obstacles appear.
On October 15, Corriere della Sera reported that Fontana and Sala signed a letter asking Transport Minister Matteo Salvini to approve the route. Assolombarda, the Milan Chamber of Commerce, Fiera Milano, and airport operator SEA joined them.
Italy’s Aviation Rules
Italy and the United Arab Emirates do not have a true Open Skies agreement. Airlines from either country cannot start any route they choose, including fifth freedom services. Emirates must obtain special permission from ENAC for each one.
Italypost reports that ENAC opened fifth freedom with the UAE only for cargo in July. It also says ENAC has been run by an interim commissioner since August 11.
In August, trade press expected ENAC’s approval in time for the winter schedule starting October 25, but it has not arrived. The route is now envisaged for 2027.
If Italy refuses, Emirates has options. It could move the route to Barcelona, where it already flies to Mexico City under fifth freedom. Peru and the UAE also signed an Open Skies agreement in September, which gives Emirates landing rights in Lima.
Legal Fight Over Emirates’ New York Route
This is not the first time Italian carriers have fought Emirates in Milan. ENAC authorized the New York route in 2013, outside the bilateral agreement. Alitalia and the airline association Assaereo challenged it.
A Lazio regional court sided with them in 2014, but Italy’s Council of State ruled for Emirates.
Alitalia argued that Emirates would skew competition because the government of Dubai wholly owns the airline.
Emirates prevailed in court, but the dispute showed how hard it can be to launch more fifth freedom flights from Milan.
Seventh Freedom Rights and Tel Aviv Question
Fifth freedom flights require a foreign airline to operate the first leg out of its home country. Seventh freedom flights work differently. A foreign airline can base its planes in another country and fly only to a third country.
In May 2026, Israel proposed that Emirates fly from Tel Aviv to New York and Bangkok under seventh freedom rights. Emirates has not flown to Israel since the October 7, 2023 attacks. It has not shown public interest in returning, and its lower cost sister airline, Flydubai, has picked up the traffic.
Flydubai has since suspended all flights to Israel. The suspension followed flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30, when the UAE attorney general said the co-pilot attempted a terrorist act.
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