Verona Villafranca Airport

Verona Airport Aeroporto di Verona-Villafranca
IATA: VRN – ICAO: LIPX VRN Location of the airport in Italy
Summary
Airport type	Civil / Military
Operator	GardaAeroporti
Serves	Verona, Italy
Location	Villafranca di Verona
Focus city for	Meridiana Neos
Elevation AMSL	240 ft / 73 m
Coordinates	45°23′47″N 010°53′17″E / 45.39639°N 10.88806°E / 45.39639; 10.88806 (Verona Airport)Coordinates: 45°23′47″N 010°53′17″E / 45.39639°N 10.88806°E / 45.39639; 10.88806 (Verona Airport)
Website	aeroportoverona.it
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 04/22 3,068 10,064 Bituminous
Helipads
Number Length Surface m ft H1 110 × 85 35 × 26 Concrete
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 2.591.255 Passenger change 14–15 -6.6% Aircraft movements 27.374 Movements change 14–15 -9%
Source: Italian AIP at EUROCONTROL[1] Statistics from Assaeroporti[2]

Verona Villafranca Airport (IATA: VRN, ICAO: LIPX), also known as Valerio Catullo Airport or simply Villafranca Airport, is an airport located 2.7 NM (5.0 km; 3.1 mi) southwest^[1] of Verona, Italy. The airport is situated at the junction of motorways A4 Milan-Venice and A22 Modena-Brenner. The airport serves a population of more than 4 million inhabitants in the provinces of Verona, Brescia, Mantua (Mantova) and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.

History

Early years

Verona Villafranca was a military airport during the First World War and opened to civil traffic in the early 1910s with charter flights to northern Europe and daily connections to Rome.

At the end of the 1970s, thanks to the first community project developed by the Province, the Municipality and the Chamber of Commerce of Verona, the airport received a passenger terminal with offices and handling facilities. The managing society, "Aeroporto Valerio Catullo di Verona Villafranca Spa", was established in December 1978. Ownership is shared between local governments of Veneto (Villafranca di Verona and Sommacampagna), Lombardy (Province of Brescia), Trentino (second main shareholder) and Alto Adige/Südtirol.

Expansion in the 1990s

In 1990, the passenger terminal was expanded in order to cope with the constantly growing air traffic. The aircraft apron and car-parking areas were enlarged; in addition, access to the airport by road was improved by building a link to Verona's new ring roads (for the World Cup 1990).

In 1995, the airport has reached the record of one million passengers per annum. In 1999, the airport has reached the second position among the 'Special Classification of Charter Traffic' after Milan Malpensa Airport and Rome Fiumicino Airport.

Development since the 2000s

Passenger numbers continued to grow: in 2001, 2 million per year; and in 2006, 3 million per year was recorded. In response to the strong demand in patronage, the airport has undertaken a significant expansion programme on its services and facilities. In May 2006, a new arrivals terminal, Terminal 2, was opened in the presence of the Vice-Minister of Transport, Cesare De Piccoli, and Vice-President of Veneto Region, Luca Zaia. This additional terminal is situated immediately next to the original building, now known as Terminal 1. As a result of the expansion programme, the airport's capacity has doubled. Terminal 1 is used solely for departures and Terminal 2 for arrivals.

Activities in the 2010s

Growth has continued into the 2010s, when 3,385,794 passengers were recorded in 2011. After a European Union investigation into high subsidies being granted to Ryanair on their routes in and out of the airport, the airliner pulled out in 2012. As a result, passeneger traffic has reduced in 2013.^[3][4]

In 2015, Ryanair has reintroduced services to the airport with scheduled flights to Palermo, London Stansted and Brussels. Several airlines have switched their charter routes to regular services during the Winter Season 2015-16: Finnair flies between Verona and Helsinki and AirBaltic flies between Verona and Tallinn. The route between Paris and Verona, as operated by Air France, however, ceases operation in late October 2015.

Facilities

Check-in area

Verona-Villafranca Airport is equipped with a fog-dispersal device, which remains the best solution available in Italy and abroad to date, so that flight operations could continue during times of low visibility. This system has been in operation since 2003 and allows pilots to land in visibility as low as 75 m (246 ft). The runway is certified for ILS Category IIIb approach.^[5]

The two terminals, departures and arrivals, are situated next to each other. The departures hall hosts check-in facilities at the eastern side. The lounge is located on the first floor's eastern wing. The main bus stand is located directly outside the arrivals hall.

Airlines and destinations

Ground transportation

A shuttle bus service, "Aerobus (199)" operated by ATV, connects Verona-Villafranca Airport directly with Verona Porta Nuova station. As of 2014, this Aerobus runs daily between 6 am and 11 pm and departs every 20 minutes. Journey time takes 20–25 minutes. During the summer months (June to September), ATV (Verona) buses 164, 183 and 184 additionally provide hourly connections between Verona-Villafranca Airport and major communes along Lake Garda/Lago di Garda.

Between March 2013 and December 2014, a direct shuttle bus service ran daily between Mantova railway station and Verona-Villafranca Airport, connecting the city with its closest international gateway. This service was provided by APAM. The journey took 45 minutes. This service ceased operation on 1 January 2015.

References

External links

Media related to Verona Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Current weather for LIPX at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for VRN at Aviation Safety Network

Airports in Italy Major international Milan–Malpensa Rome–Fiumicino Minor international Alghero Ancona Bari Bergamo Bologna Brindisi Cagliari Catania Comiso Cuneo Elba Florence Genoa Lamezia Terme Milan–Linate Naples Olbia Palermo Parma Perugia Pescara Pisa Rimini Rome–Ciampino Trapani Treviso Trieste Turin Venice–Marco Polo Verona Domestic Brescia Crotone Foggia Lampedusa Pantelleria Reggio Calabria Unscheduled Albenga Aosta Bolzano Forlì Oristano Salerno Taranto Tortolì Military Amendola Aviano Decimomannu Ghedi Gioia del Colle Grosseto Istrana Piacenza–San Damiano Pratica di Mare Rivolto Sigonella Vicenza Villafranca