Trapani–Birgi Airport ( it, link=no, Aeroporto Vincenzo Florio di Trapani-Birgi), is a military

air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

and public airport serving

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...

, in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, Italy. Located between Trapani and

Marsala Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily. The town is famous for the docking of Gius ...

, it is one of the five civil airports in Sicily. In 2015, 1,586,992 passengers passed through the airport, making it the third-busiest airport in Sicily. The

of the

Aeronautica Militare , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

in named after the aviator Livio Bassi. The civil airport is named after the Sicilian industrialist Vincenzo Florio Sr.

Overview

The airport is located south of Trapani, and opened in the early 1960s. After a long period of inactivity the airport was relaunched by the

Province of Trapani Trapani ( it, Provincia di Trapani, scn, Pruvincia di Tràpani; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it ...

in 2003, and now hosts several flights, mainly low-cost connections.

History

Inaugurated in 1964 as a regional airport operating very few flights, Trapani–Birgi became even less important in the 1990s, during which only a flight to

Pantelleria Pantelleria (; Sicilian: ''Pantiddirìa'', Maltese: ''Pantellerija'' or ''Qawsra''), the ancient Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunis ...

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

and

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 ...

was operated. The airport was relaunched in 2003 by the

and grew in size after

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...

started to use it as its main hub to Sicily, bringing several new international flights to and from Trapani. The airport has consequently been recognised as instrumental for the tourism-related economy of Western Sicily.

Italian Air Force

The military airfield, inaugurated in 1961, is named after the Italian aviator Livio Bassi. The airport is a base for the "37th Fighter Wing" of the

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

with the

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...

, and for the "82nd CSAR" (Combat Search and Rescue) with the helicopters

AgustaWestland AW139 The AgustaWestland AW139 is a medium-lift twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, later wholly owned by Leonardo S.p.A. It is marketed at several different roles, including V ...

. The airfield is one of the four

forward operating base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward Operational level of war, operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may or may not contain an airfi ...

s (FOBs) used by the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Airborne Early Warning and Control Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

Force based at

NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen (E-3A Component) is located near Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the main operating base of the NATO Boeing E-3 Sentry Component, one of two operational elements of the NATO Airborne Early Warnin ...

Geilenkirchen Geilenkirchen (, Ripuarian: ) is a town in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 15 km (9.3 mi) north-east of Heerlen and 20 k ...

, Germany. The airport gained international attention during

Operation Unified Protector Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations United Nations Security Council, Security Council United Nations Security Council resolution, resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970, 1970 and ...

in 2011 when NATO aircraft were based there during military intervention in the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Trapani–Birgi Airport:

Statistics

This table does not include passengers in transit. Ryanair discontinued most of its flights from Trapani airport in October 2017, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of passengers using the airport. aData from Assaeroporti.Assaeroporti.it
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Transport

References

External links

Official website

Sicily Transportation Map
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi Airports in Sicily

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

NATO installations in Italy Florio family Airports established in 1961 1961 establishments in Italy