SkyWork Airlines (Bern) has confirmed it has signed a Letter of Intent with Lugano Airport SA (LASA), the firm responsible for running Lugano Agno Airport, over the start of scheduled flights out of the southern Swiss airfield.

The Berne-based carrier said in a statement that in tandem with the talks, it has already begun network planning for possible future growth out of Lugano which is, however, dependent on financial incentives being made available.

"The primary objective of the negotiations is to start the flights between Lugano and Geneva with the beginning of the winter schedule. To guarantee this operation, SkyWork Airlines will operate a base in Lugano. SkyWork Airlines needs support for this development," it said.

"With a possible future base in Lugano, further synergies could be created between LASA and SkyWork Airlines. This is currently a subject of evaluation and could result in an extended network to and from Lugano."

Following the collapse of Darwin Airline (Lugano) last year, Lugano's only remaining year-round scheduled service is to Zurich operated by Austrian Airlines on behalf of Swiss. Silver Air (Czechia) also offers weekly flights to Elba Island and Mali Losinj (Croatia) albeit on a seasonal basis.