For travellers from northern Germany, the journey to Calabria will become considerably shorter from autumn 2026. Ryanair is adding a new direct service between Bremen and Lamezia Terme to its winter schedule on 25 October 2026, operating the route twice weekly, on Fridays and Sundays. This marks Italy's return as a direct destination in Bremen Airport's flight schedule for the first time in over six years: the last Italian route from Bremen operated before the Covid pandemic in 2020, serving Bergamo. For the Weser-Ems region, northern Lower Saxony and the greater Hamburg area, the new route represents a tangible improvement, as travel to Calabria has until now always required a connecting flight.
Flight details: times, frequency and period
The new Bremen to Lamezia Terme flight operates from 25 October 2026 to 26 March 2027, covering the entire winter season. As Lamezia Informa reports, citing the Ryanair website, tickets have been available to book since 23 July 2026. Departures from Bremen are on Fridays at 15:45 and Sundays at 09:25, with a flight time of approximately two and a half hours to Lamezia Terme. The aircraft used is a Boeing 737-800 with 189 seats, based in Lamezia; Bremen itself is not a Ryanair base.
The winter positioning is strategic. Regional airports such as Bremen struggle with load factors outside the summer season, while Calabria, with its mild autumn and winter temperatures averaging around 21 degrees in October, holds appeal for many travellers well beyond the classic summer months . Marcel Pouchain Meyer, Country Manager for Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Ryanair, highlighted Italy's popularity among German holidaymakers when speaking to the Bremen press, while airport managing director Marc Cezanne pointed to the sustained demand for direct services to southern Italy from across Bremen's entire catchment area.
Lamezia Terme Airport: gateway to Calabria
Lamezia Terme with around 2.7 million passengers in 2024, is Calabria's largest airport and is operated by SACAL S.p.A. According to the current network plan of Aeroporti Calabria , airlines operating from here alongside Ryanair include Condor, easyJet, ITA Airways, Lufthansa and Eurowings, with seasonal services to Frankfurt, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hannover and Stuttgart, among others. The airport is located in the Sant'Eufemia district of the city and is accessible by car within minutes of both the A2 (Autostrada del Mediterraneo) and the coastal roads leading to the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas.
The city of Lamezia Terme itself came into being on 4 January 1968 through the merger of three communities: Nicastro, Sambiase and Sant'Eufemia Lamezia. This fusion gives the city its character as an urban centre without a classically evolved historic old town, yet with several historically distinct districts. Sights include the Norman-Hohenstaufen castle ruins dating from the 11th century above Nicastro, the old town of Nicastro itself, and the archaeological traces of the ancient settlement of Terina in Sant'Eufemia. The Terme di Caronte to the south of the city have been renowned since antiquity for their curative thermal springs and today form part of a modern spa complex.
Calabria as a year-round destination
For travellers, Lamezia Terme is above all the gateway to one of Italy's most scenically diverse regions. Calabria occupies the "toe of the boot" and is washed by two seas: the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west and the Ionian Sea to the east. Within an hour's drive of the airport, several classic coastal destinations are within reach, among them Capo Vaticano with its white sandy beaches and Zibello cliffs, as well as Briatico on the Calabrian Costa degli Dei. The Costa degli Dei, the "Coast of the Gods", is one of the region's best-known tourism clusters.
Those with an interest in the interior will find it straightforward to reach the Calabrian mountain regions from the airport. The Sila National Park, the mountains of the Aspromonte and the Pollino National Park are all accessible within two to three hours by car. According to the latest Italian summer tourism figures for 2026 , the region is among the three growth regions in Italy, recording a 10.54 per cent rise in arrivals in the first half of the year. The new winter flight therefore arrives at a time of heightened attention to Calabria in the German travel market.
Continuing to Sicily
An additional argument in favour of the route is its proximity to Sicily. From Lamezia Terme Airport, it is around 75 minutes by car to the ferry port at Villa San Giovanni or Reggio Calabria, from where ferries cross the Strait of Messina several times daily in around 30 to 40 minutes. This makes Messina, the north-eastern gateway to Sicily, reachable from Bremen with just a single onward connection. For those wishing to explore the character of the island at a slower pace , this connection offers a sensible alternative to direct flights to Catania or Palermo.
It should be noted that the ferry can occasionally be affected by weather conditions in winter, and that the ongoing debate surrounding the celebrated bridge over the Strait of Messina continues, so far without a confirmed construction start date. Anyone planning an onward journey would be wise to build in extra time. In practice, the combination of Bremen to Lamezia by air and then ferry to Messina typically takes around five to six hours in total, in addition to travel time to and from Bremen Airport.
What the new flight means for travellers
For travellers from northern Germany, the new service considerably changes the calculation for a stay in Calabria. Until now, travelling from Bremen meant either a train or car journey to Frankfurt, Düsseldorf or Cologne/Bonn, or a connecting flight via one of the major hubs. Both options cost time and effort. A direct flight reduces travel time to around two and a half hours, making Calabria far more accessible for shorter stays, long winter weekends, and the classic Christmas or spring holiday.
Whether the route will be extended beyond the first winter season depends, according to observers of the Italian aviation market, primarily on booking figures. Ryanair continually reviews its route decisions on the basis of profitability, and the company's current reluctance in the German market is well known. For the 2026/2027 winter season, however, tickets are already bookable from nowwhich is an advantage for travellers with a clear travel window. Those planning a city break to Lamezia in November or wishing to walk along the sunsets of the Costa degli Dei in February now have a new, direct option with this route.
