The EU is promoting train travel as a greener alternative to flying – but this hasn’t stopped several carriers deciding to add new routes to and from Italy. 

Budget airlines including Wizz Air and Jet 2 have added routes from Rome and Milan to European destinations including Germany, Denmark, Scotland, France and Spain.

Meanwhile Italy’s ITA Airways is introducing intercontinental flights to Africa and the Middle East, as well as adding two routes to the US and Canada.

Here’s a look at the new routes, plus one important EU-wide travel change you should know about, coming in 2024.

Rome Fiumicino-Chicago, Toronto, Accra, Dakar, Riyadh, Kuwait City, Jeddah

Italian flag carrier ITA, the successor to Alitalia, is adding seven new global destinations for 2024: two in North America, two in West Africa, and three in the Middle East.

READ ALSO: Where Italy’s new ‘tourist trains’ can take you in 2024

The Chicago and Toronto flights are scheduled to start in April and May respectively, and will both have six weekly rotations.

Flights to Riyadh will start in May; to Accra and Kuwait City, in June; to Dakar, in July; and to Jeddah in October.

Rome Fiumicino-Berlin, Hamburg, Alicante and Copenhagen

Budget airline Wizz Air is also increasing its offering of routes to and from the Italian capital.

Flights to Berlin and Hamberg will start in March, to Alicante in April, and to Copenhagen in July. 

Milan Malpensa-Paris Beauvais and Tenerife

Wizz Air is also introducing new routes from the northern city of Milan in 2024, adding daily fights to Paris Beauvais from March and a Tenerife route from July.

READ ALSO: MAP: Where can high-speed rail take you in Italy?

Milan Bergamo-Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stavanger

Norwegian Air is also set to trial three new destinations from Milan: the Danish and Finnish capitals as well as Stavanger in Norway.

Bari-Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm

At the other end of the country, Norwegian is also adding weekly flights from the southern city of Bari to Stockholm, and bi-weekly flights to Copenhagen and Oslo.

Naples-Philadelphia

American Airlines has said it will add a daily route from Naples to Philadelphia starting in June, as well as bringing back its non-stop flights from Philadelphia and Chicago to Venice.

Rome-Edinburgh

Finally, low-cost airline Jet 2 is adding a bi-weekly service from Rome to Edinburgh from March.

Other changes: new passport controls

In addition to being aware of these new routes, it’s also important to know that the EU’s new Entry & Exit System (EES) is scheduled to come into effect in the autumn of 2024, after several delays.

This will involve biometric data and fingerprint scanning for people entering Italy from outside the EU – full details here.