After a six-year absence, Italy’s national airline Alitalia will begin flights to Cyprus at the same time Greece’s Ellinair will start too.

Alitalia said its new flights between Rome and Larnaca would begin on June 8 with two flights a week.

“The distance between Italy and Cyprus will soon seem a little shorter…The new service represents an important launch pad for the further development of trade and tourism,” the airline said in a statement, the Cyprus Mail reported.

Ellinair, which recently launched its Larnaca-Thessaloniki flight schedule with ticket prices as low as 19 euros ($21.67) including luggage said a new office opened in Limassol was opening up new jobs for people, the paper said.

Commercial director Stavros Daliakas said, “Cyprus is a new key destination for our network and we hope that it would be soon a base for our fleet with direct flights towards cities from Europe and Russia.”

Part of the Mouzendis Group, which has specialized in travel services for more than 20 years the airline has 40 destinations to 13 countries.

Ellinair CEO Yiannis Mouzenidis said, “We see both our partners in Cyprus and the Cypriot people not only as a major factor in our success, but also as an integral part of it. They are a valuable asset for our future prospects.”