Catania–Fontanarossa Airport

Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (Italian: Aeroporto Internazionale Vincenzo Bellini di Catania-Fontanarossa) (IATA: CTA, ICAO: LICC), also known as Vincenzo Bellini Airport, is an international airport 2.3 NM (4.3 km; 2.6 mi) southwest[1] of Catania, the second largest city on the Italian island of Sicily. It is named after the opera composer Vincenzo Bellini, who was born in Catania.

Catania–Fontanarossa Airport

Aeroporto di Catania-Fontanarossa
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorSAC
LocationCatania
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL39 ft / 12 m
Coordinates37°28′00″N 15°03′50″E
Websiteaeroporto.catania.it
Map
CTA is located in Sicily
CTA
CTA
Location within Sicily
CTA is located in Italy
CTA
CTA
CTA (Italy)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
08/26 2,560 7,989 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers10,099,441
Movements72505
Source: Italian AIP at EUROCONTROL[1]
Statistics from Assaeroporti[2]

According to Assaeroporti, it is the busiest airport in Sicily and the fourth busiest in Italy in 2020.[3] Major airlines such as ITA Airways, Lufthansa and KLM offer services here and connect numerous European destinations such as Rome, Munich, Amsterdam and Berlin, while low-cost airlines such as easyJet 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 second busiest in 2021.

History
The airport's apron with the Etna volcano visible in the background

Early years

Catania Airport's history dates back to 1924, when it was the region's first airport. During World War II it was seized by the Allies during the Sicily Campaign and used by the United States Army Air Forces as a military airfield. Twelfth Air Force used the airport as a combat airfield, stationing the 340th Bombardment Group, which flew B-25 Mitchells from 27 August to 19 November 1943. In addition, the HQ, 51st Troop Carrier Wing 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.[4]

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
Check-in zone of Terminal A

In order to cope with the increasing passengers figures, a new terminal, equipped with 22 gates 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, a new airport which opened in 2013 and is located approximately 100 km from Catania, near the city of Ragusa.[5]

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:

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Seasonal: Athens
AeroItalia Seasonal: Bergamo, Forlì
Air Arabia Casablanca
Air Cairo Cairo, Luxor, Sharm El Sheikh
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Malta Malta
Air Serbia Belgrade
Austrian Airlines Seasonal: Vienna
British Airways Seasonal: London–Gatwick
DAT Lampedusa, Pantelleria
easyJet Basel/Mulhouse, Berlin, Edinburgh (begins 2 June 2023),[6] Geneva, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Milan–Malpensa, Naples, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Seasonal: Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Bristol, Lyon, Manchester, Nantes, Nice, Zürich
Edelweiss Air Zürich
El Al Tel Aviv
Eurowings Düsseldorf
Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn, Dortmund, Hamburg, Stuttgart
flydubai Dubai–International
Iberia Seasonal: Madrid
Israir Airlines Tel Aviv
ITA Airways Milan–Linate, Rome–Fiumicino
Jet2.com Seasonal: Birmingham (begins 25 May 2023),[7] Leeds/Bradford, London–Stansted, Manchester
KLM Amsterdam
Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich
Luxair Seasonal: Luxembourg
Neos Seasonal: Bergamo, Heraklion, Milan–Malpensa, Rhodes, Sharm el Sheikh, Verona
Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm–Arlanda
Ryanair Ancona, Athens, Bari, Bergamo, Berlin, Bologna, Bucharest, Budapest, Cagliari, Eindhoven, Genoa, Hahn, Katowice, Kraków, London–Stansted, Madrid, Malta, Marseille, Milan–Malpensa, Naples, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Rome–Fiumicino, Seville, Sofia, Trieste, Turin, Venice, Verona, Vienna, Warsaw–Modlin (all ends 28 October 2023),[8]
Seasonal: Alghero, Charleroi, London–Luton (all ends 28 October 2023)[9]
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal: Oslo (begins 1 July 2023)[10]
SkyAlps Seasonal: Bolzano
Smartwings Seasonal: Bratislava, Prague, Warsaw–Chopin
Swiss International Air Lines Seasonal: Geneva, Zürich
Sun d'Or Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Transavia Seasonal: Amsterdam, Paris–Orly
TUI fly Belgium Seasonal: Brussels
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Volotea Ancona, Naples, Verona
Seasonal: Florence, Lourdes, Nantes (begins 26 May 2023),[11] Olbia, Toulouse
Vueling Barcelona, Florence
Wizz Air Beauvais (begins 19 December 2023),[12] Bologna, Bucharest, Budapest, Charleroi (begins 19 December 2023),[13] Cluj-Napoca, Hahn (begins 18 December 2023),[14] Hamburg (begins 18 December 2023),[15] Iași, Katowice, Kraków, London–Gatwick, Memmingen, Milan–Linate, Milan–Malpensa, Prague, Riyadh, Sofia, Tel Aviv, Tirana, Turin, Venice, Verona, Warsaw–Chopin
Seasonal: Abu Dhabi, Heraklion, Mykonos, Santorini, Sharm El Sheikh (begins 29 October 2023)[16]

Statistics
Annual passenger traffic at CTA airport. See Wikidata query.

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.[17] 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.[18]

Car

The airport is located close to the A19 motorway, which links Catania with Palermo and central Sicily, while the European route E45 runs to Syracuse in the south.

Bus

A shuttle bus service provides transport into Catania city centre and the Central Train Station, while scheduled bus services to other parts of the island[19] are also available direct from the airport. The main bus station is opposite the railway station and 10 minutes walk from the city centre.

See also

Other airports in Sicily:

References
  1. "EAD Basic - Error Page". ead.eurocontrol.int. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  2. "Statistiche - Assaeroporti" (PDF). assaeroporti.com.
  3. "Home Assaeroporti | Associazione Italiana Gestori Aeroportuali". Assaeroporti (in Italian). Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  4. Maurer Maurer, ed. (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
  5. "Official Ryanair website - Cheap flights from Ireland - Ryanair". ryanair.com. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  6. https://www.easyjet.com/it/buy/flights?isOneWay=off&pid=www.easyjet.com
  7. https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/220905-lsns23
  8. "Ryanair e Catania" [Ryanair & Catania]. Italiavola.com (in Italian). 2 May 2023.
  9. "Ryanair e Catania" [Ryanair & Catania]. Italiavola.com (in Italian). 2 May 2023.
  10. "SAS NS23 EUROPEAN NETWORK ADDITIONS". Aeroroutes. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  11. "Volotea annuncia la nuova rotta Catania-Nantes". 27 October 2022.
  12. https://italiavola.com/2023/05/12/wizz-air-porta-a-4-gli-aerei-a-catania-e-diventa-la-prima-compagnia-aerea-apre-5-rotte-e-sbarca-a-comiso/
  13. https://italiavola.com/2023/05/12/wizz-air-porta-a-4-gli-aerei-a-catania-e-diventa-la-prima-compagnia-aerea-apre-5-rotte-e-sbarca-a-comiso/
  14. https://italiavola.com/2023/05/12/wizz-air-porta-a-4-gli-aerei-a-catania-e-diventa-la-prima-compagnia-aerea-apre-5-rotte-e-sbarca-a-comiso/
  15. https://italiavola.com/2023/05/12/wizz-air-porta-a-4-gli-aerei-a-catania-e-diventa-la-prima-compagnia-aerea-apre-5-rotte-e-sbarca-a-comiso/
  16. https://italiavola.com/2023/05/12/wizz-air-porta-a-4-gli-aerei-a-catania-e-diventa-la-prima-compagnia-aerea-apre-5-rotte-e-sbarca-a-comiso/
  17. "Catania Airport Train Station". 12 January 2020.
  18. "Trenitalia time table".
  19. "Catania Airport Bus Transfers".

Media related to Catania–Fontanarossa Airport at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.