Exclusive-Olympics–Cortina cable car will not be ready in time for start of Winter Games, letter shows

MILAN, Jan 31 : A cable car intended to carry spectators to the women's Olympic Alpine skiing events in Cortina will not be ready in time, prompting Games organisers to request school closures to ease the pressure on the Dolomite resort's transport system, a letter seen by Reuters showed.

The Apollonio–Socrepes lift is one of the most contentious pieces of Olympic infrastructure for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, co‑hosted by the Alpine town of Cortina d'Ampezzo and Italy's financial capital from February 6–22. 

Work on the system, designed to take spectators from the town centre directly to the slopes, began behind schedule, and some residents raised safety concerns about its location in an area prone to landslides.

Despite mounting doubts over the project, still unfinished a week before the opening of the Games, Simico, the state‑backed agency in charge of Olympics infrastructure, said on Friday that work on the site was progressing according to schedule.

But in a letter dated January 29 to the central government's top representative in the Belluno province, Chief Games Operations Officer Andrea Francisi said Simico had notified organisers the previous day that the gondola lift would not be delivered within the planned timeframe.

In a statement on Saturday, Simico said work on the cable car was continuing and that safety checks required for the final commissioning were planned for the coming week. It said logistical issues such as school closures were not part of its remit.

The Milano Cortina organising committee declined to comment.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENT FOR MOBILITY

In the letter, which has not been previously reported, Francisi described the lift as an essential element of the Olympic mobility plan for Cortina, which