Paralympic: Cip-Ita Airways agreement for inclusive mobility and a plane named Pancalli

The agreement between Ita Airways and the Cip was signed today at the headquarters of the Italian Paralympic Committee, which will make mobility more inclusive, sustainable and attentive to the rights of people with disabilities. The agreement, signed by the President of the Cip Luca Pancalli and by the CEO and General Manager of Ita Airways Fabio Maria Lazzerini, saw the presence of the Minister for Disabilities Alessandra Locatelli and the President of Enac Pierluigi Di Palma. The goal is to improve services for all people with disabilities who choose the plane as a means of transport. A discussion table will also be set up between the representatives of the airline and the CIP with the aim of identifying the critical issues related to air transport for people with disabilities, starting from the experiences of the Paralympic athletes.

The name

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On the occasion, Lazzerini announced that “One of Ita’s next aircraft will have the name of Luca Pancalli. I asked him during one of our last meetings, he accepted and we are happy about it”. A great Paralympic athlete in swimming, he won eight golds, six silvers and a bronze in four participations in the Games, as well as ten world medals and six European golds. Pancalli has now been at the helm of the Italian Paralympic Committee since 2005. He is the first sports manager to receive this dedication and joins top-level athletes such as Paolo Rossi, Pietro Mennea, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Valentino Rossi, Carmine and Giuseppe Abbagnale, Roberto Baggio, Enzo Bearzot, Giacomo Agostini, Novella Calligaris, Deborah Compagnoni, Alessandro Del Piero, Andrea Lucchetta, Adriano Panatta, Federica Pellegrini, Flavia Pennetta, Tazio Nuvolari, Dino Meneghin, Gigi Riva, Marcello Lippi, Sara Simeoni, Marco Simoncelli, Francesca Schiavone, Gustavo Thoeni, Alberto Tomba and Francesco Totti. “I am proud of it as a former Paralympic athlete and as an Italian: this homage quickly takes me back to my past and I thank you, but it will make me even more proud if I can be the first of many Paralympic athletes to name an aircraft after”, commented the Pancalli President. This decision is part of Ita’s campaign to name planes after the great Italian sports champions.