Berlin/Comiso (gro) Two airports (Palermo and Trapani) in the west of the island, one (Catania) in the east, but so far no flights to the south. This should change soon, possibly with a little help from Brussels. In any case, the right airport is already there: the former military airport of Comiso in the province of Ragusa, where UNESCO has placed the Sicilian Baroque under protection as a World Heritage Site. The new airport, which is ready and has already been approved, is expected to boost tourism in southern Sicily. Vincenzo Magliocco is the name of the new airport, named after a pilot of the once royal Italian air force who died during the occupation of Ethiopia in 1936.
An aiport with a turbulent history
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The Comiso Airport, in the very south of Sicily, was built in 1937 to 1939 under Mussolini as a military airfield, in anticipation of the occupation of Ethiopia by then-Fascist Italy. The airfield was used by the Italian and German Air Forces until 1943, and by the U.S. Air Force after the Allied landings in Sicily until the end of 1945. Until 1973, the airfield was the base of the 41st Squadron of the Italian Air Force. In 1982, the U.S. Air Force took it over again and temporarily stationed over 100 cruise missiles (cruise missiles) with nuclear warheads there after the NATO dual-use decision.
For 50 million euros “civilized”
When the cruise missiles were withdrawn after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, there was a 50-million-euro conversion of the airport into a civilian commercial airport in 2002 to further develop tourism in the southern region of the island. A shining example of this is the upswing in western Sicily, where up to 2,000 passengers a day are also brought in by the low-cost airline Ryanair via a former military airfield, the converted Trapani-Birgi Airport.
Already inaugurated
by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The rebuilt, modern airport near Comiso at the foot of the Monti Iblei, southwest of Syracuse, is fully operational, licensed, approved and officially inaugurated by Massimo d’Alema, who already performed this ceremony six years ago at the Foreign Minister. D’Alema, a former member of the Italian Communists and co-founder of the Partito Democratico della Sinistra (PDS), is no longer a minister, but remains an influential politician who is also well connected in Brussels. Now one hopes in the south of Sicily for the assistance of the politician.
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Comiso offers the ideal alternative airport
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Criticism of the new airport comes mainly in Catania, whose airport on the east coast of the island is only 75 kilometers away and where people therefore fear loss of business. But Catania airport is never completely safe. Because Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, is theoretically capable of fogging the airspace around Fontanarossa (Red Well) Airport, as Catania’s airport is called, with ash at any time. The airport near Comiso is then the ideal alternate airport.
The Region of Sicily wants to provide financial security for air traffic controllers
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The fact that no airlines have been persuaded to date to take the new airport in the south of the sunny island into the program is due to the fact that for a long time it was not clear who would take over the start-up financing with the costs for the technical staff in particular. The operator of the airport, SOACA S.p.A. is privately owned, but belongs to the (poor) municipality of Comiso. However, it has now received support from Palermo, the seat of the regional government. It has signaled to stand for the necessary start-up costs straight.
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Optimists expect flight operations
In authoritative political circles in the province of Ragusa one is confident that the flight operation can be taken up still this year. The goal lies not only with in a vacation region with beautiful and not yet overcrowded beaches, but also in the midst of the most beautiful Sicilian baroque of the 17th and 18th century with its Palazzi, churches and promenades overflowing with joie de vivre. The baroque cities of Ragusa, Modica and Scicli as well as the fabulous Noto can be easily reached from the airport. And it is also not far to the former metropolis of Byzantium, to Syracuse.