Jump to content

Florence Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Amerigo Vespucci Airport)
Florence Airport, Peretola
Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorToscana Aeroporti
ServesFlorence, Italy
LocationPeretola
Opened4 June 1931; 95 years ago (1931-06-04)[1]
Elevation AMSL43 m (141 ft)
Coordinates43°48′36″N 11°12′14″E / 43.81000°N 11.20389°E / 43.81000; 11.20389
Websitewww.aeroporto.firenze.it/en/
Map
FLR is located in Tuscany
FLR
FLR
Location within Tuscany
FLR is located in Italy
FLR
FLR
Location within Italy
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
05/23 5,118 1,560[2] Asphalt
Statistics (2024)
Passengers3,516,925
Passenger change 23-24Increase +14.3%
Movements40,407
Movements change 23-24Increase +6.2%
Cargo (tons)68.9
Cargo change 23-24Decrease -49.8%
Statistics from Assaeroporti [3]

Florence Airport, Peretola (IATA: FLR, ICAO: LIRQ), in Italian Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola, formally Amerigo Vespucci Airport, is the international airport of Florence, the capital of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is the second-busiest Tuscan airport in terms of passengers after Pisa International Airport.

History

[edit]

Early years

[edit]

The first air field in Florence was created in the Campo di Marte area in 1910, when military authorities allowed a field to be used for "experiments in air navigation". Campo di Marte thus became Florence's first airport, and remained so throughout the 1920s. However, the field was soon surrounded by houses and was inadequate for the new aircraft that were then replacing the first canvas-covered craft. In 1928, a location on the plain between Florence and Sesto Fiorentino was chosen. Peretola Airport opened there on 4 June 1931.[1]

At first, Peretola was a large field where airplanes took off and landed with no formal direction, but eventually, the Ministry of Aeronautics decided to enlarge and upgrade it. The airport was extended toward Castello, and in 1938–39, an asphalt runway 60 metres (200 ft) wide and 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) long, facing northeast, was built.

During World War II, Peretola was used both by the Royal Italian Air Force and the Luftwaffe and from 1944 by Allied air forces. Then later in the 1940s it welcomed its first passenger flights, operated by Aerea Teseo with Douglas DC-3 aircraft.[4] In 1948, Aerea Teseo went out of business. In the late '50s and early '60s, Alitalia, also using the DC-3, offered two routes: Rome–Florence–Venice and Rome–Florence–Milan. ATI then offered several domestic flights with the Fokker F27.

In the early 1980s, plans were made to upgrade the airport's facilities. In 1984, Saf (now AdF, the company that manages the airport) was founded, and restructuring work was completed: lengthening (to 1,400 m (4,600 ft)) and lighting the runway, installing a VOR/DME navigation system, and rebuilding the airport terminal. In September 1986, regular flights resumed. Since then, the number of airplanes and passengers has steadily increased.

Development since the 1990s

[edit]

In 1990, the airport was renamed after Florence native Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian merchant and cartographer.

In 1992, the building now dedicated to arrivals, constructed by AdF, was inaugurated. Two years later, a departures building opened, and the City of Florence opened a car park at the entrance to the airport. In 1996, the runway was extended by 250 m (820 ft), and AdF funded further enlargement of the departure area. The new area has 15 check-in desks and is 1,200 square metres (13,000 ft2) in area, 770 m2 (8,300 ft2) of which are for public use.

Since 9 April 1998, AdF has had a global concession to managing the airport's infrastructure, and it has assumed responsibility for maintenance and development. In late 1999, a renovation and expansion of the terminals, aircraft parking areas, and other facilities began.

In July 2000, AdF made its debut on the stock market, and in 2001, the airport was among the first in Europe to obtain UNI EN ISO 9001/2000 certification for the quality of its services.[citation needed]

On 5 December 2012, Vueling announced the opening of a base of operations in Florence, with flights to several destinations in Europe.

Facilities

[edit]
Departure area at Florence Airport
Apron view
Control tower

Florence Airport has a single runway, and the main taxiway is situated at the end of Runway 5, with an overshoot/holding area at the end of Runway 23. As is common at smaller airports, after landing, planes turn around at the end of the runway, then taxi back down to reach the parking area and terminal. Because of the close proximity of Monte Morello, planes normally take off from Runway 23, thus forcing aircraft to taxi down the runway again to depart.[citation needed]

The Polizia di Stato stations police helicopters at the airport.

The terminal buildings are quite small. The larger brown building contains the check in, security, duty free and arrivals, as well at gate number 1. There is a second older building connected by an airbridge, which contains gates 2–11, as well as a food court. The current airport does not have any jetbridges so bus boarding is used from all gates, however, a new state of the art terminal is expected in the next decade, containing 7 new jetbridges. The short runway is due to be decommissioned and reduced to a taxiway because a new runway is set to be built perpendicular to the current one (parallel to the A11 highway). The new runway will be longer than the current one, which only can accept aircraft up to the size of the A320NEO.

Airlines and destinations

[edit]

The following airlines offers scheduled services from and to Florence Airport:

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens[5]
Aeroitalia Seasonal: Cagliari[6]
Air Corsica Nice[7]
Air Dolomiti Frankfurt,[8] Munich[9]
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle[10]
Air Serbia Belgrade[11]
Austrian Airlines Vienna[12]
British Airways London–City,[13] London–Heathrow,[14] London–Stansted[15]
Brussels Airlines Seasonal: Brussels[16]
Condor Seasonal: Frankfurt (begins 6 May 2027)[17]
Eurowings Seasonal: Düsseldorf[18]
Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki[19]
Iberia Madrid[20]
ITA Airways Rome–Fiumicino[21]
KLM Amsterdam[22]
Luxair Seasonal: Luxembourg[23]
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal: Copenhagen,[24] Stockholm–Arlanda,[24] Oslo[25]
Small Fly Airlines Elba[26]
Swiss International Air Lines Zürich[27]
TAP Air Portugal Lisbon[28]
Volotea Bordeaux,[29] Cagliari,[30] Catania,[31] Nantes,[32] Palermo,[32] Prague,[32] San Sebastián (begins 21 September 2026)[33]
Seasonal: Alghero,[32] Asturias (begins 21 September 2026),[34] Berlin (begins 22 September 2026),[35] Bilbao,[32] Hamburg,[36] Lyon,[32] Olbia,[37] Seville (begins 21 September 2026),[35] Strasbourg (begins 23 September 2026),[35] Toulouse,[32] Valencia (begins 22 September 2026)[35]
Vueling Barcelona,[38] Brussels,[39] Catania,[40] London–Gatwick,[41] Madrid,[42] Paris–Orly[43]
Seasonal: Menorca[44]
Widerøe Seasonal: Bergen[45]

Statistics

[edit]
PassengersYear0500,0001,000,0001,500,0002,000,0002,500,0003,000,0003,500,0004,000,0001995200020052010201520202025PassengersAnnual passenger traffic

Ground transportation

[edit]

The second line of the Florence light-rail network has a terminal at the airport.[46] The airport is also connected with the city of Florence by a bus line that runs to and from the central railway station every half-hour, operated by Autolinee Toscane. Taxis are available to central Florence.[47]

Accidents and incidents

[edit]
  • 30 July 1997 (1997-07-30): Air Littoral Flight 701, an ATR 42 regional aircraft arriving from Nice, France, overran the runway on landing, crashed through the perimeter fence and into a ditch next to the nearby A11 motorway. The captain died of his injuries four days later; fourteen other people on board were injured.

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 "Florence "Amerigo Vespucci" International Airport". Structurae. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  2. ↑ "Technical data - Toscana Aeroporti S.p.A."
  3. ↑ "Archivio". 26 November 2024.
  4. ↑ deZeng IV, Henry L. (September 2015). "Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-45 Italy, Sicily and Sardinia" (PDF). The Luftwaffe, 1933-45. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "Aegean Airlines riapre i voli stagionali Pisa – Atene". Italiavola & Travel (in Italian). 20 January 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  6. ↑ "Aeroitalia apre quattro nuove rotte da Cagliari". 24 January 2026.
  7. ↑ "Air Corsica: Regular Flights from Nice to Florence". invest in cote d'azur. 18 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "Embraer 195 Air Dolomiti atterra a Verona per fumo a bordo". Italiavola & Travel (in Italian). 31 October 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  9. ↑ "Frankfurt und München: Auch Air Dolomiti muss den Flugplan ausdünnen". aeroTELEGRAPH (in Swiss High German). 2022-06-15. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  10. ↑ Grace, Molly (9 June 2026). "Shock at Florence airport as flight arrives with zero checked luggage on board". Euro Weekly News. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  11. ↑ "Air Serbia to launch Florence flights". 10 December 2024.
  12. ↑ "Austrian: dall'estate 2026 ritorna l'overnight a Firenze". Italiavola & Travel (in Italian). 18 December 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  13. ↑ "When will BA take London City airport more seriously?". Independent.co.uk. 20 May 2025.
  14. ↑ "British Airways raddoppia i voli su Firenze da Londra Heathrow. Aereo anche in sosta notturna". Italiavola & Travel (in Italian). 13 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  15. ↑ Bradley, Jodie (14 December 2025). "Stansted Airport unveils new flights to one of the Mediterranean's 'most stunning' spots". Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  16. ↑ "Brussels Airlines riprende i voli su Firenze" (in Italian). 3 October 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  17. ↑ "Condor Expands City Network from Frankfurt with Athens, Florence and Stockholm". Condor Newsroom. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  18. ↑ Orban, André (19 January 2024). "Eurowings record summer 2024: more than 440 European routes on offer". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  19. ↑ Swanson, Maisha (6 April 2026). "Finavia airports expand to over 140 destinations with new summer routes - TravelWires". Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  20. ↑ Ollila, John (9 July 2026). "Iberia 10% To 30% Off Select Short-Haul Destinations For Travel July 9 – September 30, 2026 (Book By July 23)". LoyaltyLobby. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  21. ↑ "A Napoli c'è un altro A319 in uscita?". Italiavola & Travel (in Italian). 2 February 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  22. ↑ "Pallavolo Comunicato Federale del 7 luglio 2024" (in Italian). 7 July 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  23. ↑ "Two nights extra in Florence: Technical issue delays Luxair customers' return from Italy". RTL Today. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  24. 1 2 Noëth, Bart (15 March 2023). "SAS offers more routes and frequencies for Summer 2023". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  25. ↑ "SAS apre la Oslo-Firenze". Italiavola & Travel (in Italian). 28 June 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  26. ↑ "Small Fly Airlines partirà il 15 aprile con i voli da e per l'Elba" [S.F.A. to starts on 15th April with services to Elba Island]. Italiavola.com (in Italian). 5 April 2025.
  27. ↑ "Air Dolomiti crescera' nel 2024 con piu' aerei, nuove rotte e altro personale". Italiavola & Travel (in Italian). 27 December 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  28. ↑ "Toscana Aeroporti: novità Tap Air Portugal per Summer 2024 a Firenze" (in Italian). 17 April 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  29. ↑ "Low-cost : une nouvelle ligne Bordeaux - Florence ouverte dès le mois de mai". actu.fr (in French). 13 February 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  30. ↑ "Volotea, nuova base a Firenze. E nuovo volo con Cagliari". Corriere Toscano (in Italian). 8 April 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  31. ↑ "Aeroporto di Catania: voli dirottati, cancellati o riprogrammati per la cenere dell'Etna. Ecco l'elenco completo" (in Italian). 15 September 2026. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Da Firenze ad Alghero: c'è un nuovo volo diretto". La Nazione (in Italian). 7 July 2025. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  33. ↑ "Volotea Lancia Nuova Rotta da Firenze a San Sebastian". Italiavola.com (in Italian). 10 May 2026.
  34. ↑ "2 nuove rotte autunnali per Volotea sulla Toscana". Italiavola & Travel (in Italian). 19 December 2025. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  35. 1 2 3 4 "Volotea verbindet Berlin und Straßburg mit Florenz". aeroTELEGRAPH (in German). 2025-11-06. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  36. ↑ "Volotea s'alia amb Eurowings i llança vuit noves rutes amb Alemanya". 15 February 2023.
  37. ↑ "Volotea, from Olbia two new connections to as many European cities". L'Unione Sarda English. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  38. ↑ "Flight delayed by more than 3 hours, long wait at the airport". 29 May 2025. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  39. ↑ O'Donoghue, Deborah (25 March 2025). "Brussels Airport boasts 180 destinations, 7 new airlines and 6 new destinations summer 2025". Travel Tomorrow. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  40. ↑ Porcu, Mattia (24 April 2024). "248 routes to more than 100 destinations: this is Vueling's summer 2024". The Flight Club. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  41. ↑ Forster, Stuart (18 April 2024). "Vueling adds new routes this summer - The Business Travel Magazine". Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  42. ↑ "Vueling launches summer flights from 29.90 euros across Europe". 20 May 2026. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  43. ↑ "Voli Firenze Parigi cancellati: disagi con Vueling tra Peretola e Orly". Rimborso Volo e Risarcimento Aereo | ilMioVoloCancellato (in Italian). 4 May 2025. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  44. ↑ Guarino, Claudia (24 June 2026). "La Toscana e Minorca più vicine grazie al volo diretto di Vueling". Il Tirreno (in Italian). Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  45. ↑ Orban, André (23 March 2022). "Widerøe launches new routes from Bergen and Torp, Norway, to Florence, Nice and Palma de Mallorca". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  46. ↑ "Linea 2". mobilita.comune.fi.it. Archived from the original on 2016-07-20.
  47. ↑ "To & From Airport - Airport of Florence". www.aeroporto.firenze.it. Archived from the original on 2016-07-13.
[edit]

Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Peretola Airport at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Florence_Airport&oldid=1376329961"