Private company

Poste Air Cargo

Logo: Poste Italiane S.p.A., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Italian airline

Poste Air Cargo, named Mistral Air until 30 September 2019, is an Italian cargo and former passenger airline headquartered in Rome and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Poste italiane. Its hubs are Brescia Airport and Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome. 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.2 It was founded by Bud Spencer.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1981Founded1

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Boeing 737-4Q8, Mistral Air JP7649460
Photo: Fabrizio Berni, GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons5

Poste Air Cargo, named Mistral Air until 30 September 2019, is an Italian cargo and former passenger airline headquartered in Rome and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Poste italiane. Its hubs are Brescia Airport and Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome. 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.2

Corporate structure

Poste Air Cargo is part of a group headed by Poste Italiane. 60 entities, 8 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Founded by Bud Spencer in 1981, in Rome.1

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. 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 near Mostar, Israel/Palestine (Holy Land), Poland and Mexico. The first flight was from Rome to Lourdes on 27 August 2007 transporting the vicar of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini. The fleet incorporated increasingly larger aircraft: 3 Grumman G.159 Gulfstreams (1986–1989), 2 leased Fokker F27s, the first of several British Aerospace BAe.146QTs (starting in 1987), the first of several Boeing 737s (starting in 2006).

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.

On 1 October 2019, Mistral Air was rebranded as Poste Air Cargo.

From Wikipedia’s article on Poste Air Cargo, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Leadership

Who has led Poste Air Cargo, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Products and brands

Destinations

As of April 2021, Poste Air Cargo operates scheduled cargo flights to the following domestic destinations as well as 8 international services from their hub in 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.

Fleet

Current fleet

As of August 2025, Poste Air Cargo operates the following aircraft:

Former fleet

As of August 2025, Poste Air Cargo operated 5 Boeing 737-400SF and 3 Boeing 737-800BCF.

From Wikipedia’s article on Poste Air Cargo, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 2019Renamed Name changed to Poste Air Cargo s.r.l.1
  2. 2002Acquired Acquired by Poste Italiane1
  3. 1981Founded Founded in Rome1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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