Trapani–Birgi Airport (), is a military

air base An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

and public airport serving

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, 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 important fishing port and the mai ...

, in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, Italy. Located between Trapani and

Marsala Marsala (, ; ) is an Italian comune located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth largest in Sicily.The town is famous for the docking of Giuseppe Garibal ...

, it is one of the five civil airports in Sicily. In 2024, passengers passed through the airport, making it the third-busiest airport in Sicily. The

of the Aeronautica Militare 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 The province of Trapani (; ; officially ''libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by ...

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 (; ), known in ancient times as 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 Tunisian coast. On clear days Tunisia is visible from the ...

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , 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 province. The ...

and

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, ...

was operated. The airport was relaunched in 2003 by the

and grew in size after

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

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 The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

with the Eurofighter Typhoon, and for the "82nd CSAR" (Combat Search and Rescue) with the helicopters AgustaWestland AW139. The airfield is one of the four

forward operating base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may contain an airbase, hospital, machine shop, and othe ...

s (FOBs) used by the

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 ...

Airborne Early Warning and Control An airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system is an airborne radar early warning system designed to detect aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles and other incoming projectiles at long ranges, as well as performing command and control of the ...

Force based at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen in Geilenkirchen, 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.

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. Figures from 2013 onwards from Airgest.it.

Transport

In 2023, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana announced plans for the construction of a new railway station to serve the airport on the Trapani-Castelvetrano-Palermo line. The station, officially named "Vincenzo Florio", is expected to be operational by 2026, providing a direct 45-minute train link to Palermo Airport.

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 Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

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