Comiso Airport Comiso Airport , also known as " Vincenzo Magliocco Airport " , is located in the Sicilian city of Comiso , is an airport which serves Comiso ( 5 km / 3 miles from it ) and Ragusa ( 15 km / 9 . 3 miles from it ) . It changed from military to civil use during 2005 - 2008 . The airport was opened to commercial and general aviation May 30 , 2013 . History . 1935 - 1980 . The installation began as an aerodrome that was constructed in southeastern Sicily , at the foot of the Hyblaean Mountains ( " " Monti iblei " " ) and near the city of Comiso . The airport was designed in 1934 under the fascist regime but building works did not start until 1935 and were finished in 1939 . Magliocco Aerodromo was dedicated in 1936 and named in honor of Major General Vincenzo Magliocco , the first Sicilian to become a general officer in the Italian Air Force . Magliocco had been killed in the Ethiopian war in 1936 . It became one of several key aerodromes in southern Sicily during World War II . German forces were stationed there in 1941 , as part of Italy ' s Axis Alliance , and the German Luftwaffe in 1943 conducted air operations against Allied positions in Maghreb and Malta after its withdrawal from Tunisia . Aerial bombardments by the Allies rendered the airfield unserviceable on 26 May and 17 June 1943 in preparation for Operation Husky , the allied landings on Sicily . Just after the landing on the nearby Sicilian beaches two Ju - 87 Stuka dive bombers took off from Comiso to bomb the landing beaches , only to be met by United States Army troops at the airfield when they landed for rearming and fuel . Ground assault forces of the II Corps , under the command of ( then ) Lieutenant General Omar Bradley , captured the base on July 11 , 1943 . Six days later , after quick repairs to the airfield , Allied air forces began operations at Magliocco , designated Comiso Airfield by the Allies , coming under the USAAF Twelfth Air Force . It was primarily used to support airborne and assault glider operations . Known American units assigned to the base were : The airfield remained under Allied control until American forces left in early 1945 . The airfield and facilities at Magliocco fell into disuse during the postwar years . In 1954 Alitalia , the Italian national airline , began commercial operations there . The facilities were extended , with a runway that was to be long , the airport was opened to civil aviation . The airport was also a base for the 41st Storm of Catania ( Italian Air Force ) , until 1973 . However , the airport was little used . 1981 - 1991 . During the Cold War , on August 7 , 1981 it was officially selected as the second European main operating base for BGM - 109G Ground Launched Cruise Missiles ( GLCM ) , deployed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in response to the development and deployment of new intercontinental and intermediate range missiles by the Soviet Union . On March 17 , 1982 , Commander George W . Holland , of the U . S . Navy Civil Engineering Corps , arrived at Comiso as the resident officer in charge of construction . The Air Force activated the 7024th Special Activities Squadron at NAS Sigonella in May 1982 as a primary point of contact and liaison with Lelio Lagorio the Italian Minister of Defence regarding initial site preparations at Comiso . At Comiso , the buildings on the base were almost all bombed out shells and the runway had trees growing out of it . A few of the old buildings were refurbished and used by the USAF or the Italian Air Force , but most were demolished carefully , because of the large amount of World War II unexploded ordnance , a new base was constructed from the ground up , which was completed on 13 August 1982 . After demolition , limited facilities were constructed for the establishment of an interim base support facility or " porta - cabin city " for the 1983 summer arrival of the United States Air Force 487th Combat Support Group . The first permanently assigned U . S . military personnel arrived in April 1983 in the early stages of the construction of the base . There was a small Italian Air Force contingent there at that time , along with a U . S . Navy construction office . The 487th Combat Support Group was assigned to Comiso Air Station in May 1983 ; their efforts led to the 30 June 30 , 1983 activation of the 487th Tactical Missile Wing . Construction of permanent facilities began that summer , with the first major support facilities , which included the first two dormitories which were completed in late 1983 . These facilities belonged to the first of three increments of construction , which would activate the wing and base in stages . During the summer of 1983 , three large anti - nuclear demonstrations , largely funded by the Communist Party , were conducted around the base perimeter , with as many as 5 , 000 protesters at the events in late July , August and September . After these three demonstrations , which also involved a large number of Italian police , both local and national , the protesters appeared to lose interest and only a few very small incidents took place over the following years . From 1983 to 1991 Comiso Air Base was the largest NATO base in southern Europe and housed 112 BGM - 109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile s . Comiso Air Station was a very tightly controlled facility with a large security presence assigned due to the mission of the base , and the presence of nuclear - armed missiles which were stored at the base . The U . S . Air Force 487th Tactical Missile Wing and Italian Air Force host organization jointly accomplished the NATO GLCM mission at Comiso until the base closed on 30 June 1991 , a result of the signing of the Intermediate - range Nuclear Force Treaty in 1987 . In the late 1990s , Comiso was used for the Rainbow Mission ( Italian : Missione Arcobaleno ) , to house 5 , 000 Kosovars during the war in former Yugoslavia . The refugees were temporarily settled in the abandoned homes of the US milititary who left in 1991 . 1992 - present . Today the NATO air base , located on the southeast side of the runway , is totally abandoned and empty . Weeds and unkempt vegetation have been growing for the past 20 years . Most of the buildings are empty , and the housing units in particular have been scavenged clean of any valuable appliances , wiring , and plumbing left behind . Some of the housing units are used as makeshift archives for provincial records . Anyone is able to walk in and tour the area without any worry . Refurbishment work to reactivate the airport started in 2004 and was completed during the winter of 2008 . The new runway is long and wide , ( with two hard shoulders , each of ) and has two fast exits ( B and C ) ; they connect to a taxiway wide . An ILS ( Instrument Landing System ) was installed and a new control tower high , was built . The first civil flight was made on a 30 April 2007 , after the necessary tests and the inauguration of the new runway , but the airport was open to the traffic only the 30th of May 2013 .