On July 8, low-cost airline Ryanair celebrated its 2 millionth passenger journey on the Trieste/London-Stansted route from Trieste Airport, the only one in Friuli Venezia Giulia (see the interview in Italian, AVIONEWS). "The Trieste/London-Stansted flight now operates six times a week, guaranteeing tourists, as well as business and family travellers, an excellent connection between the English capital and our region", declared the airport's CEO, Marco Consalvo. The flight has been operating since April 5, 2001.

The two million passenger milestone is also a significant achievement, thanks to the elimination of the municipal surcharge, as established by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region—the first in Italy to eliminate it. This has reduced access costs to the airport, making it more competitive and thus generating growth in terms of traffic, tourism, and employment. As a result, Ryanair has been able to add "two aircraft, 10 new routes, doubling traffic (+100%) and supporting over 800 total jobs since the surcharge was abolished", as the airline explained in a statement. Ryanair currently operates 21 routes from Trieste Airport, including three new ones to Lamezia Terme, Prague, and Stockholm, and has seen an increase in frequencies on nine direct flights to London, Barcelona, Bari, Cagliari, and Olbia.