How it all began
ALISARDA, a company with entirely private capital, was established in March 29th 1963 on the initiative of HH Prince Aga Khan with the objective of favouring the development of the tourist industry in the Emerald Coast (Costa Smeralda), which is located in the north-eastern coast of Sardinia, then accessible only by sea.
The company began its activities in 1964 from the Olbia-Venafiorita airport operating with Beechcraft C-45 aircrafts with 8 seats and during the first year it carried 186 passengers.
In 1966, following the acquisition of two Nord 262 with 26 seats Alisarda inaugurated its flights from Rome and Milan to Olbia carrying 5,640 passengers.
In response to the increase of the flow of tourists to Sardinia, Alisarda made further investments: the Nord 262 were replaced by Fokker 27 and the runway, then unpaved, was adapted to the new requirements and covered with cement and bitumen. At the same time the network of services was extended to other destinations such as Cagliari, Genoa, Turin, Bologna and Pisa.
In 1974 the Fokker 27 were replaced by two DC9-14 that began to operate concomitantly with the opening of the new Olbia-Emerald Coast airport. As part of new airport facilities, Alisarda built a large hangar with sophisticated equipment that made it possible for the company to carry out autonomously the technical assistance of its own aircrafts.
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