Catania–Fontanarossa Airport ( it, link=no, Aeroporto Internazionale Vincenzo Bellini di Catania-Fontanarossa ) , also known as Vincenzo Bellini Airport, is an international airport southwest of Catania, the second largest city on the Italian island of

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

. It is named after the opera composer

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Gius ...

, who was born in Catania. According to Assaeroporti, it is the busiest airport in Sicily and the fourth busiest in Italy in 2020. Major airlines such as

ITA Airways Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A., trading as ITA Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Italy. It is fully owned by the Government of Italy via the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The airline flies to over 60 scheduled domestic, E ...

, Lufthansa and

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...

offer services here and connect numerous European destinations such as

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 ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, while low-cost airlines such as

easyJet EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...

and Ryanair offer flights to leisure destinations. With nearly two million passengers carried in 2016, the Catania/Fontanarossa – Rome/Fiumicino route is Italy's busiest air route, and Europe's fourth busiest.

History

Early years

Catania Airport's history dates back to 1924, when it was the region's first airport. 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 opposing ...

it was seized by the Allies during the

Sicily Campaign The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

and used by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a military airfield.

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to ...

used the airport as a combat airfield, stationing the

340th Bombardment Group 34 may refer to: * 34 (number), the natural number following 33 and preceding 35 * one of the years 34 BC, AD 34, 1934, 2034 * ''34'' (album), a 2015 album by Dre Murray * "#34" (song), a 1994 song by Dave Matthews Band * "34", a 2006 song by Sa ...

, which flew B-25 Mitchells from 27 August to 19 November 1943. In addition, the HQ,

51st Troop Carrier Wing The 51st Troop Carrier Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The wing was formed during World War II and was the first troop carrier wing in the Army Air Forces (AAF) organized for deployment overseas. During the war, it served in ...

used the airport from 29 September 1943 to 29 June 1944. Various transport units used the airport for the rest of the war. After the war, it was turned back over to civil authorities. By the late 1940s, it was clear that the airport was fast running out of space and it was deemed necessary to relocate it. In 1950, the new bigger and improved Catania Airport opened for business. After 20 years of unexpected growth and high passengers levels, in 1981 it was once again necessary to restructure the airport to cope with demand.

Development since the 2000s

In order to cope with the increasing passengers figures, a new terminal, equipped with 22

gates Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to: People * Gates (surname), various people with the last name * Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player * Gates McFadde ...

and six loading bridges, opened on 8 May 2007 replacing the old facilities. The current "investment programme" has ensured that Catania Fontanarossa Airport continues to look forward and plan for growth over the next ten years, implementing a whole new infrastructure and making many additions, including a panoramic restaurant, a new airside runway and further office space. Ryanair started flying to Catania in 2013, initially announcing only one route to Catania while also starting operations to

Comiso Airport Comiso Airport "Pio La Torre" , also known as ''Vincenzo Magliocco Airport'', is an airport located in the town of Comiso in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. The airport serves Comiso (5 km), Ragusa (15 km/9.3 miles from ...

, a new airport which opened in 2013 and is located approximately 100 km from Catania, near the city of Ragusa. To cope with the fast passenger growth, two additional terminals were opened in 2018 (Terminal B and C). Terminal C is used exclusively by easyJet.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Catania–Fontanarossa Airport:

Statistics

Ground transportation

Train

A new train station, Catania-Aeroporto Fontanarossa served by regional train lines such as the Messina-Syracuse railway, the Catania-Palermo railway, as well as the Catania-Caltagirone railway. Catania-Aeroporto Fontanarossa rail station is part of Catania's suburban railway line. The station is situated between Bicocca and Catania-Acquicella stations. A typical journey to and from Catania Central Station will take less than 10 minutes, and approximately one hour to and from Syracuse or Taormina train stations.

Car

The airport is located close to the A19

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

, which links Catania with Palermo and central Sicily, while the

European route E45 The European route E45 goes between Norway and Italy, through Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Austria. With a length of about , it is the longest north–south European route (some east–west routes are longer). The route passes throug ...

runs to Syracuse in the south.

Bus

shuttle bus A shuttle bus is a bus that travels a shorter route in comparison to most bus routes. Typically, shuttle buses travel in both directions between two points. Shuttle buses are designed to transport large groups of people who are all travellin ...

service provides transport into Catania city centre and the Central Train Station, while scheduled bus services to other parts of the island are also available direct from the airport. The main bus station is opposite the railway station and 10 minutes walk from the city centre.

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Catania-Fontanarossa Airport 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 surfa ...

Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Italy Airports established in 1924 1924 establishments in Italy