Southern Italy’s stunningly picturesque Amalfi Coast is set to get easier to visit, with a local airport opening to international flights in July.
No need to fly to Naples
Five million visitors a year flock to Amalfi’s quaint and colourful clifftop villages, many of them flying into Naples-Capodichino International Airport (NAP), which was choked with 12.4 million passengers last year. For those who go on to take a train or bus to Amalfi, the new airport will act as a far more convenient alternative and relieve congestion at Naples, where Delta and United are due to start flights this May.
Just 45km (28 miles) south Amalfi and 21km 13 miles) away from the city of Salerno, the new Salerno Costa d’Amalfi Airport (QSR) will slash the current two-hour peak-season journey time (from Naples) in half.
“A significant moment”
With permission granted by Italy’s Air Navigation Service Provider ENAV, the airport’s first international flights will be from low-cost Spanish airline Volotea (voted best budget airline by Skytrax in 2023). from July, the new airport will have connections to Cagliari (CAG) in Italy and Nantes (NTE) in France. Services from Verona (VRN) and Catania (CTA) will follow in September.
“We are very proud to be the first to announce the start of our operations at the Salerno-Costa D’Amalfi airport,” said Carlos Muñoz, President and Volotea Founder, who described Salerno operations as “a significant moment for the region and for Volotea, allowing us to further expand our offerings in the area.”
Six-million-passenger capacity
Built nearly 100 years ago in 1926, Salerno’s airport has seen many uses, by the military air force, Aeronautica Militare, and a flying school. It has also served as a firefighting centre and a private airfield. Preparation for civil commercial traffic took place in 2007, but the site closed closed in 2016.
Now though, it boasts an extended 2,000-metre (6,561-feet) runway and work has begun to create a new passenger terminal. Development of the site is expected to continue until at least 2043, with a capacity expected to grow from around 400,000 passengers to a potential six million passengers a year – figures that are encouraging to some in the region’s hospitality sector, while others concerned about over-tourism may question the wisdom of making it easier for large numbers of tourists to access the UNESCO-designated coast.
