AIRLINER THURSDAY – ITALY WEEK!
FOUR ROUTES. FOUR ERAS. ONE DESTINATION.
Thursday, 3 September 2026
Benvenuti in Italia!
ITALY WEEK continues, and on Thursday we’re going BIG.
To celebrate the recent MSFS 2024 Italy City Update, this week’s Airliner Thursday Mini Fly-In brings together four groups of aircraft from across the Mediterranean for one combined destination:
CAGLIARI, SARDINIA
Cagliari Elmas Airport – LIEE
This isn’t simply one group flying one route.
We’ll have four separate departure points, aircraft ranging from vintage piston classics to the latest airliners, and carefully selected routes designed to bring everyone together over Sardinia for the arrival into Cagliari.
Whether your idea of an airliner involves two radial engines, four radial engines, a pair of turbofans or enough glass screens to illuminate a small Italian village, there’s a category for you.
Pick your aircraft. Pick your route.
All roads—or rather, airways—lead to Cagliari.
CAT 1 — AIRLINERS & BUSINESS JETS
Madrid → Cagliari
Our first group is for the fast stuff.
Bring along your choice of narrow-body, wide-body or business jet and join us for the run from Spain across the Mediterranean to Sardinia.
Departure: Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas (LEMD)
Arrival: Cagliari Elmas (LIEE)
DEPARTURE: 1115–1130 UTC
A320, 737, 777, 787, A330, Citation, Challenger…
If it’s got turbines and likes getting places quickly, it’ll probably fit in nicely.
CAT 2 — CLASSIC PROPLINERS
Malta → Cagliari
Time to turn the clock back to the golden age of piston-powered airline travel.
Category 2 departs Malta International for the flight northwest across the Mediterranean to Sardinia.
This group is designed around aircraft with performance similar to the:
Douglas DC-6
Lockheed Constellation
…or another classic propliner capable of keeping pace.
Departure: Malta International (LMML)
Arrival: Cagliari Elmas (LIEE)
DEPARTURE: 1115–1130 UTC
Four engines, lots of noise and preferably enough smoke during startup to concern the occupants of the neighbouring gates.
Perfect.
CAT 3 — VINTAGE CLASSICS
Rome → Cagliari
Going back another generation, Category 3 is where the DC-3s, C-47s and other vintage classics come out to play.
We’ll depart from Rome Ciampino before heading southwest, crossing the Italian coastline and setting out across the Tyrrhenian Sea for Sardinia.
Departure: Rome Ciampino (LIRA)
Arrival: Cagliari Elmas (LIEE)
DEPARTURE: 1115–1130 UTC
The route has been selected with the Douglas DC-3 / C-47 in mind, so anything offering similar cruise performance should work well.
And yes, the modern jet crews will probably already be drinking coffee at Cagliari by the time you arrive.
That’s not the point.
You’ll have more style.
CAT 4 — LATE DEPARTURE EXPRESS
Ibiza → Cagliari
Can’t make the main departure window?
We’ve got you covered.
Category 4 is our Late Departure Express, giving anyone arriving later the opportunity to still take part in the fly-in and hopefully join the rest of the group for the arrival festivities at Cagliari.
Bring a narrow-body, wide-body or business jet for the relatively short run across the Mediterranean.
Departure: Ibiza (LEIB)
Arrival: Cagliari Elmas (LIEE)
DEPARTURE: 1200 UTC
This one is all about catching the pack.
Engines running, doors closed…
Let’s go.
WHY CAGLIARI?
With the recent Italy City Update for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, we couldn’t really call it ITALY WEEK without bringing Airliner Thursday along for the ride.
And Cagliari gives us the perfect destination.
Sitting on the southern coast of Sardinia, Cagliari is the island’s capital and one of the locations to receive significant attention in the latest update.
Those joining us for Warbird Wednesday will already have had a low-level look around the city.
On Thursday we’re doing things rather differently.
We’ll be approaching Sardinia from four directions:
Madrid from the west
Malta from the southeast
Rome from the northeast
Ibiza from the northwest
As the event progresses, aircraft that started hundreds of miles apart will gradually begin converging on Sardinia.
And that’s where this Mini Fly-In should get particularly interesting.
Imagine the traffic building around Cagliari as DC-3s, DC-6s, Constellations, business jets, Airbuses, Boeings and whatever else everyone decides to bring all begin arriving at the same airport.
Please try not to create an international incident.
EVENT SETTINGS
Simulator: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
Server: SE Asia
Time: Live Time
Weather: Live Weather
Please make sure you’re on the correct multiplayer server before departure so everyone can see each other.
GATES, RAMPS & COMMS
All four groups will share the same voice communications channel throughout the event.
With this many aircraft potentially spawning at four departure airports—and eventually trying to occupy Cagliari at the same time—there is one particularly important bit of housekeeping:
PLEASE ADVISE YOUR GATE OR RAMP BEFORE SPAWNING
Use our dedicated Discord channel:
gate-ramp-allocations
Post your intended gate or ramp position before loading into the simulator, and check what everyone else has already selected.
It only takes a few seconds and prevents two aircraft materialising inside each other.
While amusing from a distance, an A330/DC-3 hybrid is unlikely to receive an airworthiness certificate.
THE CONVERGENCE
The real fun begins as the four groups close in on Sardinia.
The routes and departure windows have been chosen to account for the vastly different performance characteristics of each aircraft category.
CATEGORIES 1, 2 & 3
Departure: 1115–1130 UTC
CATEGORY 4
Departure: 1200 UTC
Nobody needs to race.
The objective is to enjoy your chosen aircraft, enjoy the Mediterranean crossing, take in the newly improved Italian scenery and gradually become part of the traffic stream heading toward Cagliari Elmas.
By the end, we should have several generations of commercial aviation sharing the same piece of Sardinian sky.
From the DC-3 era…
through the great four-engined piston propliners…
to modern business jets and today’s airliners.
Different speeds.
Different routes.
Different generations.
ONE DESTINATION.
So choose your category, get your aircraft ready, claim your gate and prepare for another night of ITALY WEEK.
Four categories.
Four starting points.
Multiple generations of aviation.
One airport waiting at the end.
FLY TOGETHER, FLY MASSIVE
DESTINATION: CAGLIARI!
We’ll see you on the ramp.
