Chieti Airport

[Dona Vansoest]

Beingthe only international airport in the Abruzzo region, it plays a fundamental role for the transportation and aerial connection of the area and for that of neighbouring regions; catering also for people from Molise, Marche and the Gargano area. The airport has seen a steady increase in the number of transit passengers over the years, mainly due to a growth in low-cost airlines and flights. The terminal built in 1996 has been extended in 2011 and recently restructured in 2018.

The history of the airport starts in 1917 when, after the bombing of Pescara by bombers of the k.u.k. Luftfahrtruppen, the aerial component of the Austro-Hungarian Army, along the Via Tiburtina Valeria road a military airfield is built by the Regio Esercito, which arrived on 26 October 1917 with two Farman 14. On 31 July 1918 the 302 Squadron is formed, equipped with biplanes Ansaldo SVA, among the best fighter-bombers of the time.

In the 1930s, with the start of commercial aviation, the airline Societ Aerea Mediterranea (SAM) started in 1933 a triweekly service from Pescara to Rome Urbe Airport, with an intermediate stop at the airfield of Piana di Bagno near L'Aquila.[4]

After WWII, the first airline to restart commercial service was Societ anonima di navigazione aerea transadriatica (Transadriatica), which inaugurated the service Pescara-Roma-Urbe on 5 May 1947 using a Douglas DC-3.[5] At the same time, Transadriatica started another interesting route: Venezia-Ancona-Pescara-Brindisi-Catania. Furthermore, the airline Avio Linee Italiane decided to start a route connecting North to South Italy for the first time: Milan-Pescara-Foggia-Bari-Brindisi.[6]

Itavia, constituted in 1958 to operate between secondary airports not served by Alitalia, opened its first route Pescara-Roma-Urbe on 15 July 1959 with a 8-seats de Havilland Dove. With the development of Itavia also the number of routes increased between the end of 1960s and beginning of 1970s, including Roma, Milano, Ancona, Crotone, Forl, Lecce, Bergamo, Bologna, Treviso-Venezia, Catania and Palermo.

In 1973, the English historian Bruce Barrymore Halpenny, then living in Abruzzo, organised a British Caledonian BAC 111 to take off from Genoa Airport to Pescara to test the feasibility of the approach and landing at Pescara of a large commercial aircraft.[7] With the British Caledonian chief pilot being an ex-RAF pilot and Halpenny (also Ex-RAF) on board this maneuver was successfully accomplished,[7] opening up the airport and the region for tourism.[7] Halpenny then arranged for a British Caledonian BAC 111 to take off from Gatwick Airport, land in Pescara and return to Gatwick, demonstrating the feasibility of [7] commercial flights to the airport.[7]

As of 1 February 1979, Itavia was forced to suspend its flights to Pescara due to the revision of the minimum landing requirements on some Italian airports implemented by ANPAC, the National Association of Civil Aviation Pilots. The raise of the requirements in question (distance to the runway and altitude at which the pilot must decide whether to continue the landing) were dependent on proper radio support (such as ILS, Instrument Landing System) and a clear view to allow the landing of aircraft in conditions of poor visibility. Such instruments were not installed at the time at the airport. Itavia itself was never going to be back at the airport, as it ceased operations in June 1980, after the Ustica disaster.

After the dark period during which the airport did not have any connection, the situation improved with the reopening of a route to Milano through Ancona, operated by Aermediterranea, a company belonging to Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI) and controlled by Alitalia, which was operated between 1981 and 1983.

From 1984, the flight to Milan Linate Airport was managed by another company of the Alitalia group: Aero Trasporti Italiani (ATI), based in Naples. In 1988, it was the turn of Alitalia itself to operate the much-sought direct connection to Milan, using the modern McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jetliners until 1994.[8]

The development of the airport, which has seen an increment of passengers from 114,000 in 2000 to over 600,000 in 2015, is mainly due to the low-cost phenomenon that has affected all of Europe and most small Italian airports, benefiting Pescara.

Today the airport has a catchment area of over 600,000 passengers annually and connects the city of Pescara and the entire region with many Italian and European destinations, in particular with the services offered by the airlines Ryanair and Volotea.[11]

The airport is connected to the center of Pescara with the TUA (regional public transportation company) bus lines 8 and 38, with which it is possible to reach Piazza della Repubblica, the Bus Terminal serving domestic and international destinations. The bus lines 8 and 38 pass also near the main railway station in the city, Pescara railway station.

The airport is connected to the center of Pescara and Chieti with the TUA Chieti-Pescara line, with which it is possible to reach the university campus "G. D'Annunzio" in Chieti Scalo. The TUA stop is opposite to the pedestrian exit of the airport park on Via Tiburtina Valeria.

In addition, the airport is planned to be served in the future by the new trolleybus system currently under construction, the first phrase of which will connect the Pescara railway station with Montesilvano, starting in 2023 or 2024.

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Offer of one day free of the daily time and mileage charges on an intermediate (group C) through a full-size four-door (group E) car. Taxes, concession recovery fee, customer facility charges ($10/contract in CA) and fuel charges are extra. Optional items such as LDW and other surcharges may apply and are extra. Offer valid on minimum three-day rental. The renter is responsible for any additional time and mileage charges over one day. Coupon cannot be used for one-way rentals. One coupon per rental. Offer may not be used in conjunction with any other coupon, promotion or offer. Coupon valid at Avis locations in the contiguous U.S. (excluding the New York Metro area). Holiday and other blackout periods may apply. If a rental begins during a blackout period, the whole rental is blacked out and does not qualify for use of coupon. An advanced reservation is required. Customer must provide profile number associated with the coupon. Reservation must be cancelled by rental date, or coupon will be used. Offer subject to vehicle availability at time of reservation and may not be available on some rates at some times. For reservations made on Avis.com, free day will be applied at time of rental. Avis reserves the right to alter the terms and conditions and use of coupons. Avis reserves the right to refuse or expire coupons at any time without prior notification. Coupons cannot be applied to completed rentals. Renter must meet Avis age, driver and credit requirements. Minimum age may vary by location. An additional daily surcharge may apply for renters under 25 years old. Rental must begin on or before 12/31/24.

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