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 / 37.46667°N 15.06389°E / 37.46667; 15.06389 (Catania Vincenzo Bellini Airport)
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]

Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (IATA: CTA, ICAO: LICC), also known as Vincenzo Bellini Airport (Italian: Aeroporto Internazionale Vincenzo Bellini di Catania-Fontanarossa), 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.

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.

2023 Terminal Fire and temporary disruption

On 16 July 2023, a part of the airport was burned in a fire of unclear origin. Flights to Catania on that day were redirected to Palermo and Trapani, and other flight activity was almost entirely interrupted until the following 19 July.[6] Flights over the following 3 week period continued to be disrupted until the normal operations were fully resumed on 5 August. [7]

On 28 July, a Lufthansa Frankfurt - Catania flight was diverted to Malta. The situation gained media attention after the aircraft's flight path appeared to draw a phallus in the vicinity of Catania Airport, although the diversion and associated manoeuvres were later suggested to be caused to wind conditions which prevented the landing at Catania, after two attempts.[8]

Airlines and destinations

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

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Seasonal: Athens
AeroItalia Rome–Fiumicino
Seasonal: Bergamo
Air Arabia Casablanca
Air Cairo Seasonal: Cairo, Luxor, Sharm El Sheikh
Air France Seasonal: Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Malta Malta (ends 30 March 2024)[9]
Air Serbia Seasonal: Belgrade
Austrian Airlines Seasonal: Vienna
British Airways Seasonal: London–Gatwick
Dan Air Bacău[10]
DAT Lampedusa, Pantelleria
easyJet Basel/Mulhouse, Berlin, Geneva, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Milan–Malpensa, Naples, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Seasonal: Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Bristol, Edinburgh, Lyon, Manchester, Nantes, Nice, Zürich
Edelweiss Air Seasonal: Zürich
El Al Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Eurowings Düsseldorf, Stuttgart
Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn, Dortmund, Hamburg, Hannover (resumes 30 April 2024)[11]
flydubai Dubai–International
Iberia Seasonal: Madrid
Israir Airlines Seasonal: Tel Aviv
ITA Airways Milan–Linate, Rome–Fiumicino
Jet2.com Seasonal: Birmingham, Edinburgh (begins 7 May 2025),[12] Leeds/Bradford, London–Stansted, Manchester
KLM Amsterdam
KM Malta Airlines Malta (begins 31 March 2024)[9]
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, Bari, Beauvais,[13] Bergamo, Berlin, Bologna, Bucharest–Otopeni, Budapest, Cagliari, Charleroi, Eindhoven, Genoa, Hahn, Katowice, Kraków, London–Stansted, Madrid, Malta, Milan–Malpensa, Naples, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Prague,[14] Rome–Fiumicino, Seville, Sofia, Tirana,[15] Trieste, Turin, Venice, Verona, Vienna, Warsaw–Modlin
Seasonal: Alghero, Athens, Heraklion (begins 2 June 2024),[16] London–Luton, Marseille, Rhodes (begins 3 June 2024)[17]
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal: Oslo
SkyAlps Seasonal: Bolzano
Smartwings Seasonal: Bratislava, Prague, Warsaw–Chopin
Swiss International Air Lines Seasonal: Geneva
Sun d'Or Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Transavia Seasonal: Amsterdam, Paris–Orly
TUI fly Belgium Seasonal: Brussels
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Volotea Ancona, Verona
Seasonal: Florence, Lourdes, Nantes, Olbia, Toulouse
Vueling Barcelona, Florence
Wizz Air Beauvais,[18] Bologna, Bucharest–Otopeni, Budapest, Charleroi,[18] Hahn,[18] Hamburg,[18] Iași, Katowice, Kraków,[19] Memmingen, Milan–Linate, Prague, Sharm El Sheikh[18] Sofia, Tel Aviv, Tirana, Turin, Venice, Warsaw–Chopin
Seasonal: Abu Dhabi,[20] Cluj-Napoca,[21] Heraklion, London–Gatwick, Mykonos, Santorini

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.[22] 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.[23]

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[24] 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. 1 2 "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. ↑ Raiti, Daria; Di Grazia, Andrea (17 July 2023). "Incendio in aeroporto, voli dirottati su Palermo e Trapani: Procura apre inchiesta". Catania Today (in Italian). Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "Catania airport returns to normal service - English". ANSA.it. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  8. ↑ Berberi, Leonard (31 July 2023). "Volo per Catania e la rotta a forma di pene è un fake: «Pilota non protestava, è colpa del vento»". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  9. 1 2 "New airline replacing Air Malta to fly on March 31, 2024". 2 October 2023.
  10. ↑ "Dan Air: 13 rute de la Bacău cu debut în noiembrie și decembrie 2023". November 2023.
  11. ↑ "Eurowings NS24 Hanover / Nuremberg Network Expansion". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "Jet2 puts 16m seats on sale for summer 2025".
  13. ↑ "Ryanair official website". 26 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "Ryanair official website". 26 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "Ryanair sbarca in Albania. Attacco frontale a Wizz Air". 8 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "Ryanair apre la Catania – Heraklion". 5 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "Ryanair NS24 Network Additions – 10DEC23".
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 "Wizz Air porta a 4 gli aerei a Catania e diventa la prima compagnia aerea. Apre 5 rotte e sbarca a Comiso". 12 May 2023.
  19. ↑ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240102-w61q24cxld
  20. ↑ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240102-w61q24cxld
  21. ↑ "Wizz Air suspendă rute din București și Cluj Napoca în octombrie 2023". 28 September 2023.
  22. ↑ "Catania Airport Train Station". 12 January 2020.
  23. ↑ "Trenitalia time table".
  24. ↑ "Catania Airport Bus Transfers".

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