Race against time to bring Alessandro Di Battista back to Italy: Thursday departure planned with stopovers and low-altitude flight

A 15-hour flight with two stopovers is being organized to bring Alessandro Di Battista from Cuba to Italy as quickly and safely as possible. The private medical plane is expected to leave Havana on Thursday and land in Rome before taking him to Gemelli Polyclinic.

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Alessandro is fully conscious and speaks directly with the doctors.

Officially, the medical flight has clearance for departure on Friday, with arrival at the Rome hospital scheduled for midafternoon Saturday. Doctors and staff handling the case are trying to bring the timetable forward. The latest examinations reportedly leave room for a low-altitude flight, which could speed up the arrangements.

Di Battista will travel on a private flight covered by the health insurance he took out. Medical personnel will accompany him, along with Sahra Lahousnia, the mother of his two children, Andrea and Filippo. The aircraft is expected to stop first in the Bahamas and then in Ireland.

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He is completely clear about what is happening to him and what the next steps will be.

People close to the former Five Star Movement lawmaker said he is fully conscious and speaking directly with doctors. They said he understands what is happening and the next stages of his treatment. The latest clinical tests have confirmed the seriousness of his condition, and doctors at Gemelli are expected to intervene as soon as possible after his arrival.

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From June 1 to August 31 this year, throughout the summer, the Foreign Ministry did not leave any Italian facing problems abroad alone, especially those with health problems.

A dispute has continued on social media over whether the Italian state should provide the flight. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the transport would instead be covered by insurance. In a video posted on X, he said the Foreign Ministry had not abandoned any Italian citizens facing problems abroad during the summer, especially health emergencies, and had repatriated 25 nationals. He said Di Battista and a young man named Younes had received assistance in the same spirit. Some Five Star figures backed Tajani, calling the controversy crude in the face of a human tragedy, but the argument has continued.

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From lawmaker Di Battista to the young Younes, everyone received assistance in the same spirit, with the same availability and the same desire to help our citizens.