Media: Italy did not allow US planes flying to the Middle East to use its military base

Italy refused to allow American planes to land at Sigonella military base when they were already en route to the Middle East.

The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera wrote about this on March 31.

It is noted that such a decision was made a few days ago by Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto after an urgent appeal by the Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force Luciano Portolano.

Several American bombers were to land at Sigonella base and then fly to the Middle East.

The Italian command received the flight plan while the planes were in the air, but no official request for permission to use Sigonella airbase was received.

The inspection showed that these flights did not have the status of routine or logistical and were not covered by bilateral agreements between Italy and the United States. In addition, the planes had a special designation that required prior approval for landing. Therefore, Crosetto decided to deny the United States the use of the base.

• On March 30, Spain officially reported that it was closing its airspace to US aircraft involved in attacks on Iran.

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