Naples International Airport

"LIRN" redirects here; see also Library and Information Resources Network. Not to be confused with Naples Municipal Airport, Florida

Naples-Capodichino International Airport (IATA: NAP, ICAO: LIRN) (Italian: Aeroporto Internazionale di Napoli)^[3][4] is the international airport serving Naples and the Southern Italian region of Campania. According to 2023 data,^[5] the airport is the fourth-busiest airport in Italy and the busiest in Southern Italy. The airport serves as a base for easyJet, Ryanair, Volotea and Wizzair.^[6][7] Located 3.2 NM (5.9 km; 3.7 mi) north-northeast^[1] of the city in the Naples, the airport is officially named Aeroporto di Napoli-Capodichino Ugo Niutta, after decorated WWI pilot Ugo Niutta. The airport covers 233 hectares (576 acres) of land and contains one runway.^[8]

Naples International Airport Aeroporto Internazionale di Napoli-Capodichino "Ugo Niutta"
IATA: NAP ICAO: LIRN WMO: 16289
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	GE.S.A.C. S.p.a.
Serves	Naples metropolitan area Southern Italy
Location	Capodichino (San Pietro a Patierno), Naples, Campania, Italy
Opened	1950; 75 years ago (1950)
Focus city for	easyJet Ryanair Volotea Wizz Air
Built	1910
Elevation AMSL	294 ft / 90 m
Coordinates	40°53′04″N 014°17′27″E
Website	aeroportodinapoli.it
Map
NAP Show map of Campania NAP Show map of Italy
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 06/24 2,628 8,622 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Passengers 12,394,911 Passenger change 22-23 13.5% Movements 89,023 Movements change 22-23 6.0% Cargo (tons) 10,899.2 Cargo change 22-23 10.8%
Source: Italian AIP at EUROCONTROL[1] Statistics from Assaeroporti[2]

History

Foundation and early years

The district of Capodichino – in the area known as "Campo di Marte" – hosted the first flight exhibitions in Naples in 1910. During the First World War, "Campo di Marte" became a military airport in order to defend the town against Austro-Hungarian and German air attacks. ^{[citation needed]}

During World War II, it was used as a combat airfield by the United States Army Air Forces and the Royal Air Force extensively during the Italian Campaign. The airfield was first used by RAF No. 324 Wing with its five squadrons of Supermarine Spitfires in 1943. It was then used by the US Twelfth Air Force which stationed the following units at the airport: 79th Fighter Group (January–May 1944, P-40 Warhawk/P-47 Thunderbolt); 47th Bombardment Group (March–April 1944, A-20 Havoc); 33d Fighter Group (April–May 1944, P-40 Warhawk), 332nd FG (15 Apr 44 - 28 Mar 44, P-39 Airacobra). When the combat units moved out, Air Transport Command used the airport as a major transshipment hub for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel for the remainder of the war.^[9]

Commercial traffic started in 1950. In 1980, GE.S.A.C. ("Gestione Servizi Aeroporto Capodichino") was established to administer the airport; in 1982, it became "Gestione Servizi Aeroporti Campani" and participated in by the City Council, the province of Naples and Alitalia. In 1995, GE.S.A.C. drew up – with BAA assistance – a new master plan, which marked the beginning of a twenty-year development plan.^{[citation needed]}

Development since the 2000s

In June 2005, Eurofly began seasonal service to New York City using Airbus A330s. This was the airport's first transatlantic flight.^[10][11] In 2010, the airline merged with Meridiana to form Meridiana Fly, which maintained the route.^[12] The service ceased in 2017 ahead of Meridiana Fly's rebranding as Air Italy.^[13] In May 2019, United Airlines launched seasonal flights to Newark aboard a Boeing 767.^[14] Then in May 2024, Delta Air Lines launched seasonal flights from New York J.F.K, also with a 767,^[15] followed by American Airlines from Philadelphia with a 787 a month later.^[16]

Facilities

Operations

The airport is class 4D ICAO and has the classification of military airport opened to commercial air traffic 24 hours/day. The airport management company is fully responsible for managing the airport and coordinating and control activities of all the private operators present in the airport. Capodichino hosts some aeronautical industrial activities like Atitech, Alenia Aeronautica, Aeronavali, Tecnam Costruzioni Aeronautiche.^{[citation needed]}

Terminal

The airport has one terminal building, Terminal 1 with airside sections A, B and C handling all domestic and international flights. The landside ground level features the check-in and arrivals areas while the upper level features the main departures area A with most shops. The airside ground level contains sections B and C, with the latter being used for non-Schengen departures. As the airport does not feature jet-bridges, buses (or in a few instances walk boarding) are in use. Several areas of the terminal have been refurbished and expanded in recent years.^{[citation needed]}

Apron and runway

The airport has a single runway (orientation: 06/24 – 2,628 m × 45 m (8,622 ft × 148 ft) – resistance: PCN90/F/B/W/T – assistance: PAPI, ILS) in bituminous conglomerate and concrete, with one taxiway.^[17] There is one apron with 29 stands, 9 of which are self-manoeuvring and the remaining are Push Back.^{[citation needed]}

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Naples Airport:

Airlines	Destinations
Aegean Airlines	Athens[18]
Aer Lingus	Seasonal: Dublin[19]
Air Arabia	Casablanca[20]
Air Cairo	Sharm El Sheikh[21] Seasonal: Hurghada[22]
Air Canada	Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau (begins 16 May 2025)[23]
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle[24]
Air Serbia	Seasonal: Belgrade[25]
airBaltic	Seasonal: Riga[26]
American Airlines	Seasonal: Chicago–O’Hare (begins 7 May 2025),[27] Philadelphia[27]
Austrian Airlines	Vienna[28]
British Airways	London–Heathrow[29]
Brussels Airlines	Seasonal: Brussels[30]
Delta Air Lines	Seasonal: Atlanta (begins 25 May 2025),[31] New York–JFK[citation needed]
easyJet	Alicante,[32] Amsterdam,[33] Athens,[33] Barcelona,[33] Basel/Mulhouse,[34] Berlin,[35] Catania,[36] Geneva,[37] London–Gatwick,[38] London–Luton,[39] Luxembourg,[40] Lyon,[33] Marrakech,[41] Milan–Malpensa,[33] Munich,[42] Nice,[37] Palermo,[33] Paris–Orly,[33] Prague,[43] Sharm El Sheikh,[36] Strasbourg,[44] Zurich[42] Seasonal: Bristol,[33] Cagliari,[37] Corfu,[33] Dubrovnik,[33] Edinburgh,[33] Fuerteventura (begins 25 June 2025),[45] Gran Canaria,[46] Heraklion,[42] Hurghada,[46] Ibiza,[33] Kefalonia,[47] Kos,[47] Lampedusa,[47] Malta,[36] Manchester,[48] Marsa Alam,[citation needed] Menorca,[37] Mykonos,[36] Nantes,[49] Olbia,[50] Palma de Mallorca,[36] Porto,[42] Preveza,[51] Pula,[33] Rhodes,[33] Salzburg,[40] Santorini,[47] Skiathos,[47] Split,[33] Zakynthos[51]
Eurowings	Düsseldorf,[52] Stuttgart[53] Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn,[54] Hamburg[55]
Finnair	Seasonal: Helsinki[citation needed]
flydubai	Dubai–International
FlyOne	Chișinău (begins 15 July 2025)[56]
Iberia Express	Madrid[57]
Israir Airlines	Seasonal: Tel Aviv[58]
ITA Airways	Milan–Linate,[59] Rome–Fiumicino[59]
Jet2.com	Seasonal: Birmingham,[60] East Midlands,[61] Edinburgh,[62] Glasgow,[63] Leeds/Bradford,[64] London–Stansted,[65] Manchester[66]
KLM	Amsterdam[67]
Lufthansa	Frankfurt,[68] Munich[68]
Luxair	Luxembourg[69]
Neos	Seasonal: Sharm El Sheikh[70]
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Seasonal: Copenhagen,[71] Oslo[72]
People's	Seasonal: St. Gallen/Altenrhein[citation needed]
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca[73]
Ryanair	Alghero,[33] Barcelona,[33] Bergamo,[33] Bucharest–Otopeni,[33] Budapest,[33] Cagliari,[33] Catania,[33] Charleroi,[33] Dublin,[33] Edinburgh,[33] Gdańsk,[74] Genoa,[33] Kraków,[33] Lisbon,[33] London–Luton,[75] London–Stansted,[76] Madrid,[33] Málaga,[33] Malta,[33] Manchester,[33] Marrakech,[33] Milan–Malpensa,[33] Palermo,[33] Paphos,[77] Prague,[33] Seville,[33] Sofia,[33] Tel Aviv,[78] Tenerife–South,[33] Trieste,[33] Turin,[33] Valencia,[33] Venice,[33] Verona,[33] Vienna,[75] Warsaw–Modlin,[79] Wrocław[33] Seasonal: Beauvais,[80] Chania,[33] Copenhagen,[33] Corfu,[33] Eindhoven,[33] Kaunas,[33] Marseille,[80] Memmingen,[77] Menorca,[33] Mykonos,[33] Nuremberg,[80] Palma de Mallorca,[33] Rhodes,[33] Santorini,[33] Shannon,[81] Thessaloniki,[75] Toulouse,[80] Zagreb,[82] Zakynthos[77]
Scandinavian Airlines	Seasonal: Copenhagen,[83] Stockholm–Arlanda[citation needed]
Sky Alps	Mostar (begins 16 May 2025)[84]
Smartwings	Seasonal charter: Prague[citation needed]
Swiss International Air Lines	Zürich[85]
TAP Air Portugal	Seasonal: Lisbon[citation needed]
Transavia	Amsterdam,[86] Paris–Orly[87]
TUI Airways	Seasonal: Birmingham,[citation needed] Bristol,[citation needed] East Midlands,[citation needed] Glasgow,[citation needed] London–Gatwick,[citation needed] Manchester,[citation needed] Newcastle upon Tyne[citation needed]
TUI fly Belgium	Seasonal: Brussels[88]
Tunisair Express	Tunis
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul[89]
TUS Airways	Tel Aviv[90]
United Airlines	Seasonal: Newark[citation needed]
Volotea	Athens,[91] Bilbao, Genoa,[92] Nantes, Palermo,[93] Turin,[94] Venice Seasonal: Aalborg,[95] Cagliari,[96] Heraklion,[97] Karpathos,[citation needed] Kefalonia,[98] Lampedusa,[citation needed] Lourdes,[citation needed] Lyon,[99] Mykonos,[100] Olbia,[101] Pantelleria,[citation needed] Preveza/Lefkada,[102] Rhodes,[103] Santorini,[104] Skiathos,[105] Split,[106] Zakynthos[107]
Vueling	Barcelona[108]
Wizz Air	Brașov (begins 16 October 2025),[109] Bucharest–Băneasa,[110] Budapest, Chișinău (begins 15 October 2025),[111] Katowice, Sharm El Sheikh,[112] Sofia, Tel Aviv (begins 28 October 2025),[113] Tirana, Warsaw–Chopin Seasonal: Cluj-Napoca

Statistics

Check-in hall

Control tower and hangars

Annual passenger statistics from 2000 through 2023:^[114]

• 2000: 4,136,508 passengers (+13%)
• 2001: 4,003,001 passengers (−3.2%)
• 2002: 4,132,874 passengers (+3.2%)
• 2003: 4,587,163 passengers (+11%)
• 2004: 4,632,388 passengers (+1%)
• 2005: 4,588,695 passengers (−0.9%)
• 2006: 5,095,969 passengers (+11.1%)
• 2007: 5,775,838 passengers (+13.3%)
• 2008: 5,642,267 passengers (−2.3%)
• 2009: 5,322,161 passengers (−5.7%)
• 2010: 5,584,114 passengers (+4.9%)
• 2011: 5,768,873 passengers (+3.3%)
• 2012: 5,801,836 passengers (+0.6%)
• 2013: 5,444,422 passengers (−6.2%)
• 2014: 5,960,035 passengers (+9.5%)
• 2015: 6,163,188 passengers (+3.4%)
• 2016: 6,775,988 passengers (+9.9%)
• 2017: 8,577,507 passengers (+26,6%)
• 2018: 9,932,029 passengers (+15,8%)
• 2019: 10,860,068 passengers (+9,3%)
• 2020: 2,779,946 passengers (-74,4%)
• 2021: 4,636,501 passengers (+66,8%)
• 2022: 10,918,234 passengers (+42,5%)
• 2023: 12,394,911 passengers (+13,5%)

Ground transportation

Car

Capodichino is easily accessible from all the city thanks to the exit of the so-called "Tangenziale", an urban highway (A56) connecting the city of Naples to metropolitan area and highways to Rome and Caserta (A1), Salerno (A3) and Bari, Benevento and Avellino (A16).^[115] Fixed taxi rates are in use for the main destinations within the city limits of Naples from Airport to: Naples Centre, Molo Beverello (Port), Mergellina (Hydrofoils to Capri and Ischia Islands).^[116]

Bus

Bus line Alibus, operated by ANM, connect the airport to Piazza Garibaldi and Piazza Municipio.^[117] Distance airport/centre city is about 7 km (4.3 mi). The airport is also connected to Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Sorrento, Salerno and Serre.^[118]

Metro

As of 2025, the Capodichino Aeroporto station on Naples Metro's Line 1 is under construction to connect the airport with the current terminus at Naples' central station. It is expected to be finished by 2027.^[119]

Incidents and accidents

On 15 February 1958, a United States Air Force Douglas VC-47A Skytrain, 42-93817, c/n 13771, built as a C-47A-25-DK and upgraded,^[120] en route from its home base, Ramstein-Landstuhl Air Base, Germany, to Istanbul, departed Capodichino Airport on a flight to Athens, with 16 servicemen aboard. Following a report 30 minutes after departure when the crew reported en route at 6500 feet and switching to the Rome ATC, nothing further was heard from the flight, which never contacted Rome,^[121] nor arrived in Greece. Dense fog over the Ionian Sea and mountainous southern Italy on 17 February greatly impeded search efforts for the missing aircraft. "U.S. authorities did not exclude the possibility the plane might have been forced down in Communist Albania."^[122]

On 19 February 1958, the burned and scattered wreckage was found high on the rugged slope of Mount Vesuvius at the 1,200-metre (3,800 ft) level, about 60 m (200 ft) below the top of the cone of the volcano. A search plane first spotted the wreckage following "four days of fruitless ground, sea and air search impeded by fog, rain and snow." Patrols of U.S. servicemen, Italian soldiers and carabinieri reached the crash site four hours after it was found, battling though heavy snow, but reported no survivors amongst the 16 on board. They stated that all had been identified. According to a 1958 Associated Press report, "a surgeon said death apparently was instantaneous." There were 15 Air Force officers and men from Ramstein-Landstuhl Air Base, and one seaman of the USS Tripoli on board. The report stated that "officials declined to venture a theory on the cause of the crash except that the weather was bad and the pilot, Capt. Martin S. Schwartz of Ashland, Kentucky, had not previously flown from Capodichino field."^[123]

On 31 March 1959, a United States Navy Douglas R4D-8 crashed after takeoff due to engine failure. Three occupants out of 20 on board were killed as well as one ground worker.^[124]

Use by U.S. military forces

U.S. military forces have been present on this site, primarily US Navy personnel,^[125] since 1951. Among two other facilities in Naples, Naval Support Activity Naples is a tenant of several buildings in the Northwestern area of the airport.^[126] The United States Navy handles military and civilian aircraft on this airport for logistics.^[127] It is home to U.S. Naval Forces Europe and the U.S. Sixth Fleet.

See also

• List of the busiest airports in Italy
• List of airports in Italy