Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport

Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport^{[lower-alpha 1]} (IATA: AJA, ICAO: LFKJ), formerly "Campo dell'Oro Airport", is the main airport serving Ajaccio on the French island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located in Ajaccio, the prefecture of the Corse-du-Sud department, 5 km (3.1 mi; 2.7 nmi) east of the harbour.^[2] The airport is the main base of regional airline Air Corsica, which operates services to continental France. It is named after Napoleon Bonaparte, who was born in Ajaccio.

Napoleon Bonaparte Airport Aéroport d'Ajaccio-Napoléon-Bonaparte Aeruportu di Aiacciu Nabulione Buonaparte
IATA: AJA ICAO: LFKJ
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	CCI d'Ajaccio/Corse du Sud
Serves	Ajaccio, France
Elevation AMSL	17 ft / 5 m
Coordinates	41°55′26″N 008°48′09″E
Website	http://www.aeroport.fr
Map
LFKJ Location of the airport in Corsica Show map of Corsica LFKJ LFKJ (France) Show map of France
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 02/20 2,407 7,897 Bituminous concrete
Statistics (2021[1])
Passengers 1,411,728 Freight (metric tons) 6.087 Movements 31,590
Source: French AIP,[2] Aeroport.fr[3]

History

Campo dell'Oro, before aviation, was an alluvial plain at the mouth of the Gravona. The toponym's origin, meaning "Field of Gold", remains obscure; some 19th century authors refer to a "rich cropland"; others, to a malaria-infested marshland. A grass flying field existed there before World War II but apparently offered no transportation services, as the first regular flights to Marseille began with the institution of a seaplane service in 1935 from Ajaccio Harbor.^{[citation needed]}

In 1940, a Vichy Air Corps unit was kept inactive at Campo dell'Oro. The liberation of Corsica began with the landing by sea in 1943 of I Corps at Ajaccio in Operation Vésuve. A few months later Fighter Group GC2/7 of the Free French Air Force, a French unit of the Royal Air Force, were operational on the grass field at Campo dell'Oro with Spitfires. Heavy aircraft were unable to land and came to mishap in the soft surface.^{[citation needed]}

In 1944 the United States Army Air Forces took over the airport and put down a hard surface of perforated metallic mats from which a squadron of P-51s flew.^[4][5] They defended B-26s flying from new airfields constructed on the east coast of Corsica. Campo dell'Oro was a challenge for the larger aircraft because of its relatively short runways and proximity to the mountains. Toward the end of the war, the runways were paved, forming the foundation of the modern airport.

Before the crash of Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308, the airport had no radar, and its holding pattern had aircraft fly over mountains. After the crash, the holding pattern was shifted over the ocean and aircraft radar was installed.^[6]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport:

Airlines	Destinations
Air Corsica	Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris–Orly, Toulouse Seasonal: Charleroi,[7] Clermont-Ferrand, Rome–Fiumicino,[8] Toulon,[9] Venice, Zurich[10]
Air France	Paris–Orly Seasonal: Brive, Caen, Castres, Lyon, Nantes, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Poitiers
Amelia International[11]	Seasonal: Brive[12]
easyJet	Seasonal: Basel/Mulhouse, Bordeaux,[13] Geneva, Lyon, Nantes,[14] Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Luxair	Seasonal: Luxembourg
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Seasonal: Oslo
Transavia	Nantes[15]
Volotea	Seasonal: Bordeaux, Brest, Caen, Lille, Lyon,[16] Montpellier, Nantes,[16] Strasbourg, Toulouse

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at AJA airport. See Wikidata query.

Other facilities

Air Corsica has its head office on the airport property.^[17]

Incidents and accidents

• On 1 December 1981, Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308 crashed while on approach to this airport, killing all on board.^[18]

Notes

1. French: Aéroport d'Ajaccio-Napoléon-Bonaparte, Corsican: Aeruportu di Aiacciu Nabulione Buonaparte

References

1. "Bulletin Statistique du trafic aérien commercial - année 2021" [Commercial Air Traffic Statistics Bulletin - year 2021] (PDF; 4,45 MB). ecologie.gouv.fr (in French). Ministère de la Transition écologique et de la Cohésion des territoires. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
2. LFKJ – AJACCIO NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. AIP from French Service d'information aéronautique, effective 8 August 2024.
3. "Résultats d'activité des aéroports français 2018" (PDF). aeroport.fr. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
4. Office of Assistant Chief of Air staff, Intelligence (1992). "The AAF in Southern France". The United States Army Air Forces in World War II. Headquarters, Army Air Forces Washington, D.C. (Center for Air Force History). Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2008.
5. Long, Marc (7 March 2007). "Calamity in Corsica". Aviation and Air Combat Articles. SimHQ. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2008.
6. Mentour Pilot (18 July 2024). When Comms turn DEADLY! Inex-Adria flight 1308. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via YouTube.
7. "Vol, séjours, billets d'avion – Air Corsica".
8. "Nell'estate di Air Corsica debutta la rotta Ajaccio-Roma, da inizio luglio". 21 January 2022.
9. "Flight Toulon | Air Corsica".
10. "UAE Business: Air Corsica to launch Zurich-Ajaccio flights in July".
11. "Amelia-Connecting Our Horizons". flyamelia. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
12. "Amelia Adds Ajaccio – Brive Service in NS23".
13. Liu, Jim. "easyJet S20 new routes as of 27DEC19". Routesonline. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
14. Easy Jet
15. "Affordable flights to Ajaccio from €55". Transavia. 13 March 2024.
16. Liu, Jim. "Volotea outlines post-COVID 19 network expansion in S20". Routesonline. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
17. "Relations Clientèle Archived 18 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine." CCM Airlines. Retrieved on 12 February 2010.
18. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-81 (MD-81) YU-ANA Ajaccio-Campo dell'Oro Airport (AJA)". www.aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 28 October 2020.

External links

Media related to Ajaccio Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Ajaccio Airport CCI Ajaccio et Corse-du-Sud (in English)
• Aéroport d'Ajaccio Napoléon Bonaparte – Union des Aéroports Français (in French)
• Accident history for AJA at Aviation Safety Network
• Current weather for LFKJ at NOAA/NWS