Trapani–Birgi Airport

Trapani–Birgi Airport (IATA: TPS, ICAO: LICT) (Italian: 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.^[3] 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.

Trapani-Birgi Airport Aeroporto civile Vincenzo Florio Aeroporto militare Livio Bassi
IATA: TPS ICAO: LICT
Summary
Airport type	Military/public
Serves	Trapani, Italy
Focus city for	AlbaStar
Elevation AMSL	25 ft / 8 m
Coordinates	37°54′43″N 012°29′36″E
Website	airgest.it
Map
TPS Location of the airport in Sicily
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 13R/31L 2.695 8.841 Bitumen 13L/31R 2.620 8.595 Bitumen
Statistics (2023)
Passengers 1,332,368 Passenger change 22-23 49.42% Aircraft movements 10,666 Movements change 22-23 19.60%
Source: Italian AIP at EUROCONTROL[1] Statistics from Airgest.it[2]

Overview

The airport is located 8 NM (15 km; 9.2 mi) south^[1] 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

Eurofighter Typhoon of the Aeronautica Militare Italiana in Trapani

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.^[4]

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:

Airlines	Destinations
Aeroitalia	Parma[5]
DAT	Pantelleria[6]
GoTo Fly	Forlì, Verona
Ryanair	Bergamo, Bologna,[7] Malta, Naples, Pisa, Rome–Fiumicino,[8] Turin, Venice[9] Seasonal: Billund[citation needed], Bordeaux, Bratislava, Charleroi, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Katowice, London–Stansted, Manchester, Milan–Malpensa, Pescara, Porto,[10] Seville, Toulouse, Warsaw–Modlin, Weeze

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at TPS airport. See Wikidata query.

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.^[11]

Year	Domestic passengers	International passengers	Total passengers	Var % prev. year
2023	924,174	400,964	1,332,368	49.42
2022	637,212	252,980	891,670	108.4
2021	366,841	56,894	427,893	131.9
2020	169,165	12,343	185,581	54.9
2019	322,218	80,732	411,437	14.4
2018	366,801	103,324	480,524	62.8
2017	923,284	366,801	1,292,957	13.4
2016	1,151,515	339,385	1,493,519	5.9
2015	1,195,377	389,966	1,586,992	0.7
2014	1,159,837	436,705	1,598,571	14.9
2013	1,279,972	596,828	1,878,557	19.0
2012[12]	1,110,532	465,937	1,578,753	7.36
2011	918,027	550,769	1,470,508	12.6
2010	1,024,755	656,573	1,682,991	57.4
2009	757,555	301,308	1,069,528	100.5
2008	342,025	186,774	533,310	5.2
2007	432,943	72,946	507,185	62.3
2006	305,895	4,802	312,459	19.8
2005	385,612	2,194	389,735	5.2
2004	382,867	19,071	410,898	66.7
2003	224,663	2,281	246,474	393.6
2002	39,175	3,494	49,932	20.0
2001	44,702	5,732	62,430	82.3
2000	n/a	n/a	34,321

aData from Assaeroporti.^[13] Figures from 2013 onwards from Airgest.it^[14].

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.^[15] The station, officially named "Vincenzo Florio", is expected to be operational by 2026, providing a direct 45-minute train link to Palermo Airport.^[16]

City	Bus company
Agrigento (180 km away)	Salvatore Lumia
Borizzo Airfield	Azienda Siciliana Trasporti(it)[17]
Castelvetrano	Salvatore Lumia
Marsala	Autoservizi Salemi, Azienda Siciliana Trasporti(it)
Mazara del Vallo	Azienda Siciliana Trasporti(it)
Menfi	Salvatore Lumia
Montallegro	Salvatore Lumia
Paceco	Azienda Siciliana Trasporti(it)
Palermo	Autoservizi Salemi, Terravision
Porto Empedocle	Salvatore Lumia
Realmonte	Salvatore Lumia
Ribera	Salvatore Lumia
Sciacca	Salvatore Lumia
Siculiana	Salvatore Lumia
Trapani	Azienda Siciliana Trasporti(it)

See also

• Trapani–Milo Airport Luigi Broglio – first airport of Trapani, today used by the Italian Space Agency.
• Trapani–Chinisia Airport Livio Bassi – second airport of Trapani, open between 1949 and 1971.
• Catania Airport Vincenzo Bellini – Sicily's major international airport.
• Palermo Airport Falcone e Borsellino – also known as Punta Raisi Airport, another international airport in Sicily
• Comiso Airport Vincenzo Magliocco – it is another of Sicily's airports

References

1. "EAD Basic - Error Page".
2. "Dati di Traffico". Airgest (in Italian). 8 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
3. "Statistiche Dati di Traffico 2023 - Assaeroporti" (PDF). Assaeroporti. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
4. "Il portale dell'Aeronautica Militare - 37th Wing".
5. "Aeroitalia returns to Trapani". Tp24.
6. "Denmark's DAT wins PSO contract in southern Italy". ch-aviation.com. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
7. "Ryanair May – Oct 2023 Italy Frequency Variations – 14MAY23". Aeroroutes.
8. "Ryanair May – Oct 2023 Italy Frequency Variations – 14MAY23". Aeroroutes.
9. "News for Airlines, Airports and the Aviation Industry | CAPA".
10. "Ryanair NS23 Network Additions Summary – 26MAR23". Aeroroutes.
11. "Adesso è ufficiale: Ryanair scarica Trapani". 27 February 2018.
12. "Aeroporto Trapani - sito ufficiale - Aeroporto Trapani-Birgi Vincenzo Florio - Airgest Dati di traffico". Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
13. Assaeroporti.it
14. "Dati di Traffico". Airgest (in Italian). 8 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
15. "GRUPPO FS - RFI lancia gara per la nuova fermata "Vincenzo Florio"". www.rfi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 April 2024.
16. Tp24.it (29 December 2023). "Entro il 2026 la fermata - stazione dell'aeroporto di Birgi". TP24.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
17. "AST Spa – Struttura Territoriale Occidentale – Sede di Trapani – Orario Invernale". Azienda Siciliana Trasporti – www.aziendasicilianatrasporti.it. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.

External links

Media related to Trapani-Birgi Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Sicily Transportation Map
• Accident history for TPS at Aviation Safety Network
• Current weather for LICT at NOAA/NWS