Trapani–Birgi Airport

Trapani–Birgi Airport (Aeroporto Vincenzo Florio di Trapani-Birgi), is a military air base and public airport serving Trapani, in Sicily, Italy. Located between Trapani and Marsala, it is one of the five civil airports in Sicily. In 2023, 1,332,368 passengers passed through the airport, making it the third-busiest airport in Sicily. The air base 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 8 NM south of Trapani, and opened in the early 1960s. After a long period of inactivity the airport was relaunched by the Province of Trapani 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, Palermo and Rome was operated.

The airport was relaunched in 2003 by the Province of Trapani and grew in size after Ryanair 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 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 bases (FOBs) used by the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force based at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen in Geilenkirchen, Germany. The airport gained international attention during Operation Unified Protector 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.