Italian start-up airline SkyAlps will operate from Gatwick to Bolzano from 15 December, cutting the existing two-hour transfer time to the Dolomites from the traditional gateways of Verona, Milan, Venice or Innsbruck to one hour.

Flights will operate every Wednesday and Saturday in December and the first week of January, and then on Wednesdays and Sundays for the rest of the winter season until 20 March. Flight time is put at two hours 20 minutes.

SkyAlps said: “The service is seen as a premium option for skiers, but it is still excellent value with seat prices starting at €135 each way.”

Flights will be on a Q400 turbo prop aircraft with 78 seats.

The airline is backed by a consortium led by one of Italy’s green energy companies that owns Bolzano airport, which has been closed since 2016 and has just two gates.

SkyAlps is already operating flights from Bolzano to Dusseldorf, Copenhagen and Rotterdam and said additional destinations were “imminent”.