Florence Airport, Peretola , it, Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola and formally Amerigo Vespucci Airport, is the
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
of
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, the capital of the
Italian region
The regions of Italy ( it, regioni d'Italia) are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, five of which have higher autonomy than the rest. U ...
of
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
. It is the second-busiest Tuscan airport in terms of passengers after
Pisa International Airport
Pisa International Airport ( it, Aeroporto Internazionale di Pisa) , also named Galileo Galilei Airport is an airport located in Pisa, Italy. It is the main airport in Tuscany and the 10th in Italy in terms of passengers. It is named after Galil ...
.
History
Early years
The first air field in Florence was created in the
Campo di Marte
Firenze Campo di Marte (or, simply, Firenze Campo Marte) is the third railway station of Florence and the eighth station of Tuscany and the biggest station in south Florence. The station is mostly used by commuters going to Florence coming from t ...
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
Sesto Fiorentino (), known locally as just Sesto, is a municipality (''comune'') in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, central Italy.
History
The oldest known human settlement in the area dates from the Mesolithic (c. 9,000 years ago) ...
was chosen. Peretola Airport opened there on 4 June 1931.
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
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
60 metres wide and 1,000 metres long, facing northeast, was built.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Peretola was used both by the
Royal Italian Air Force and the
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
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
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner
manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
aircraft. In 1948, Aerea Teseo went out of business. In the late '50s and early '60s,
Alitalia
Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana Società per azioni, S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of ...
, also using the DC-3, offered two routes:
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
–Florence–
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
and Rome–Florence–
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. ATI then offered several domestic flights with the
Fokker F27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Euro ...
.
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 (from 1,000 to 1,400 metres) and lighting the runway, installing a
VOR/DME
In radio navigation, a VOR/DME is a radio beacon that combines a VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) with a distance-measuring equipment (DME). The VOR allows the receiver to measure its bearing to or from the beacon, while the DME provides the s ...
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
In 1990, the airport was renamed after Florence native
Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian merchant and
cartographer
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
.
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 metres, and AdF funded further enlargement of the departure area. Today, the new area has 15 check-in desks and covers a total of 1,200 square metres, 770 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.
On 5 December 2012, Vueling announced the opening of a base of operations in Florence, with flights to several destinations in Europe.
Facilities
![Aeroporto_di_Firenze,_torre_di_controllo_0](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Aeroporto_di_Firenze%2C_torre_di_controllo_0.jpg)
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.
Florence Airport has a single runway, and the main
taxiway
A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...
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
Monte Morello is the highest mountain (934 m.) in the Florentine valley, Italy. It is located to the north-west of Florence and it spreads across the borders of the municipalities of Florence, Vaglia, Sesto Fiorentino and Calenzano.
More ...
, planes normally take off from Runway 23, thus forcing aircraft to taxi down the runway again to depart.
The
Polizia di Stato
The ''Polizia di Stato'' (State Police or P.S.) is one of the national police forces of Italy.
Alongside the Carabinieri, it is the main police force for providing police duties, primarily to cities and large towns, and with its child agencies ...
stations
police helicopter
Police aviation is the use of aircraft in police operations. Police services commonly use aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and control of large-scale public events ...
s at the airport.
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines offers scheduled services from and to Florence Airport:
Statistics
Ground transportation
The second line of the
Florence light-rail network has a terminal at the airport. 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 the local bus company ATAF. Taxis are available to downtown Florence.
Accidents
*
References
External links
*
*
Airport information (unofficial)
{{authority control
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Italy
Airports established in 1910
Airports in Italy
Transport in Florence