Naples International Airport
Naples International Airport () is the international airport serving Naples and the Southern Italian region of Campania. According to 2019 data, the airport is the fifth-busiest airport in Italy and the first one in Southern Italy. The airport serves as a base for easyJet, Ryanair, Volotea and Wizzair. Located north-northeast of the city in the San Pietro a Patierno quarter of Naples, the airport is officially named "Aeroporto di Napoli-Capodichino Ugo Niutta", after decorated WWI pilot Ugo Niutta. History. 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. 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. 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. After two years (1997) GE.S.A.C. was the first airport management company in Italy to be privatised: BAA acquires 70% of the share package from the City Council and Province of Naples. In 1998 the "Galleria Napoli" opened, a shopping arcade open 365 days a year inside Terminal 1. In 2002 Prince Charles inaugurated the new departure lounge. In June 2005, the airport's maiden transatlantic flight took off. Eurofly began a seasonal service to New York City using Airbus  A330s. Afterward, the airline merged with Meridiana to create Meridiana Fly, which started operating the route instead. In 2018, the carrier rebranded as Air Italy, and the flight to New York ceased. Nevertheless, United Airlines launched a link to Newark the following May; the service would operate every summer. Facilities. 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. 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, busses or in a few instances walk boarding is in use. Several areas of the terminal have been  refurbished and expanded in recent years. Apron and runway. The airport has a single runway (orientation: 06/24 – – resistance: PCN90/F/B/W/T – assistance: PAPI, ILS) in bituminous conglomerate and concrete, with one taxiway. There is one apron with 29 stands, 9 of which self-maneuvering and the remaining Push Back. Statistics. Annual passenger statistics from 2000 through 2017: 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). 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). Bus. Bus line 3S and Alibus, operated by ANM, connect the airport to Piazza Garibaldi and Piazza Municipio. Distance airport/centre city is about . The airport is also connected to Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Sorrento, Salerno and Serre. Metro. As of 2021, an extension to the existing Line 1 of Naples Metro is under construction to connect the airport with the current terminus at  Naples' central station. After delays, it is expected to be finished by 2024. 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, 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, 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." On 19 February 1958, the burned and scattered wreckage was found high on the rugged slope of Mount Vesuvius at the 3,800-foot level, about 200 feet 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." Use by U.S. military forces. U.S. military forces have been present on this site, primarily US Navy personnel, 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. The United States Navy handles military and civilian aircraft on this airport for logistics. It is home to U.S. Naval Forces Europe and the U.S. Sixth Fleet.