Brindisi Airport (), also known as ''Brindisi Papola Casale Airport'' and ''Salento Airport'', is an

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

Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

, in southern Italy, located from the city centre.

History

Foundation and early years

This airport was originally established as a military airbase in the 1920s. The first commercial flights serving

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

began in the 1930s with the establishment of Ala Littoria Airlines in 1934. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Alitalia Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana 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, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. ...

took over the route and added a flight to

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

. The airport is officially named after Antonio Papola, in memory of the Italian aviator who died on 13 February 1948 in an air accident who had a special bond with the city. It is also officially known as "Casale" with reference to the contiguous neighborhood in Brindisi with the same name and also as "

Salento Salento (; Salentino dialect, Salentino: ''Salentu''; Griko language, Salento Griko: ) is a Cultural area, cultural, List of historical states of Italy, historical, and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apuli ...

Airport" with reference to the geographic region where it is located. As of 2008, it has officially changed its legal status into civilian airport, still maintaining operational the military facilities attached to it. These are identified with its original name "Military Airport Orazio Pierozzi", named in memory of an Italian airman of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Military usage

The strategic position of the airport in the Mediterranean region, along with its multi-modal connections with the highway and the port a few kilometers away, have made it a base of crucial importance for both national defense and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. For the same strategic reasons, in 1994 the airport was chosen as the main global logistics base by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

to support its

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...

and

peace enforcement Peace enforcement is the use of various tactics, most notably military force to compel peace in a conflict, generally against the will of combatants. Peace enforcement missions permit the use of non-defensive armed force, unlike peacekeeping opera ...

operations around the world, which was previously hosted in Pisa Military Airport "San Giusto". In 2000, the United Nations humanitarian supply depot was also moved from Pisa to Brindisi. It has since then been managed by the

World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...

and officially known as the

United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot The United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) is a humanitarian platform and network of hubs strategically located around the world, that provide supply chain solutions to the international humanitarian community. The hubs are located in B ...

(UNHRD). On behalf of governments, other UN agencies and NGOs, from UNHRD Brindisi humanitarian aid is directed to the most remote and devastated regions around the world.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Brindisi Airport:

Statistics

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brindisi - Salento Airport Transport in Brindisi Airports in Apulia Buildings and structures in Brindisi