| Airline: | Poste Air Cargo |
| Fleet Size: | 6 |
| Destinations: | 15 |
| Iata: | M4[1] |
| Icao: | MSA[2] |
| Callsign: | MISTRAL WINGS |
| Parent: | Poste italiane |
| Founded: | 1981 |
| Headquarters: | Rome, Italy |
| Key People: | Bud Spencer (Carlo Pedersoli), Founder |
| Hubs: | Brescia Airport |
| Website: | poste.it/posteaircargo |
Poste Air Cargo, named Mistral Air until 30 September 2019, is an Italian cargo and former passenger airline headquartered in Rome[3] and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Poste italiane. Its hubs are Brescia Airport and Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome.[4] The airline used to serve domestic scheduled and international charter passenger services which it ceased in mid 2018 while focusing on cargo operations since then.
Mistral Air was established in 1981 by actor and former swimmer Bud Spencer (Carlo Pedersoli) and started operations in 1984.
It was wholly owned by TNT N.V.[4] until March 2002 when TNT sold a 75% stake to Poste Italiane. The airline has also been contracted by the Holy See of the Vatican to fly Pilgrims to holy sites such as Lourdes, Fátima, Santiago de Compostela, Medjugorje across Mostar, Israel/Palestine (Holy Land), Poland and Mexico. The first flight went from Rome to Lourdes on 27 August 2007 transporting the vicar of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini.[5]
In May 2018, owner Poste Italiane announced that Mistral Air will cease all scheduled and charter passenger flights to focus on cargo operations from now on. The airline has been loss-making for years and recently lost a PSO contract for Italian domestic services as well.[6] [7]
Since October 1, 2019, Mistral Air was rebranded in Poste Air Cargo.
As of April 2021, Poste Air Cargo operates scheduled cargo flights to the following domestic destinations as well as 7 international services from their hub in Rome:[8]
| Country | City | Airport | Notes | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Bari | Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport | |||
| Italy | Brescia | Brescia Airport | |||
| Italy | Cagliari | Cagliari Elmas Airport | |||
| Italy | Catania | Catania Fontanarossa Airport | |||
| Italy | Lamezia Terme | ||||
| Italy | Naples | ||||
| Italy | Palermo | ||||
| Italy | Rome |
Latest passenger destinations served by Mistral Air brand were Cagliari, Catania, Naples, Palermo, Perugia, Brescia and Pescara in Italy as well as Tirana in Albania which all ceased by August 2018.
As of May 2023, the Poste Air Cargo fleet consists of the following aircraft:[9]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATR 72-500 | 1[10] | — | ||
| Boeing 737-400F | 5[11] | — | ||
| Total | 6 | — |