Taranto-Grottaglie Airport

Aeroporto di Taranto-Grottaglie ; Stazione Aeromobili Marina Grottaglie
Characteristics
ICAO code	LIBG
IATA code	TAR
Coordinates	40 ° 30 '58 " N , 17 ° 24' 17" E Coordinates: 40 ° 30 '58 " N , 17 ° 24' 17" E
Height above MSL	66 m (217 ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	16 km east of Taranto
Street	SS7
Basic data
opening	1916
operator	Aeroporti di Puglia SpA (civil part)
surface	160 ha
Terminals	1
Start-and runway
17/35	3200 m × 45 m asphalt

The Taranto-Grottaglie Airport ( ital. : Aeroporto di Taranto-Grottaglie "Marcello Arlotta" ) is located in the region of Puglia in southeastern Italy . It is located four kilometers southwest of Grottaglie in the province of Taranto and is considered the airport of the port city of Taranto, 16 km away .

The airport, named after the aeronaut Marcello Arlotta , is divided into a civil part and a military part of the Italian naval aviators . The Marina Militare calls it Stazione Aeromobili Marina Grottaglie (MARISTAER).

history

Grottaglie Airport was created as a military airfield during the First World War . From 1916 it served to defend the important naval bases in Taranto and Brindisi , but above all as a base for airships that were used, among other things, to attack targets in the Bay of Kotor . During the Second World War , Grottaglie served as a starting point for missions in the Balkans . The II./Kampfgeschwader 1 was based here between April and June 1943 . During this time, the airfield was of bombers of the Allies destroyed. After the occupation, they used it for some time and then returned it to Italy. In 1950, the reconstruction of the airport began, which then became the base of the Italian Air Force and Navy. From here they deployed Helldiver , Harpoon and Tracker aircraft .

After a renovation in the 1970s, the navy became the main user. From here she only used helicopters until the 1990s. In the early 1990s, the Navy activated the GRUPAER squadron (Gruppo Aerei Imbarcati) to operate its carrier-based Harrier II combat aircraft . Contrary to the original plans, the successor model Lightning II will not be stationed in Grottaglie, but together with the F-35B of the Aeronautica Militare in Amendola .

The civil joint use began in 1964 with scheduled flights of Alitalia and its subsidiary ATI to Rome and northern Italy. In 1969 significant security deficiencies were discovered at the airport and commercial use was discontinued. After renovation work and the opening of a small terminal hall , commercial traffic was resumed in 1985 thanks to the commitment of smaller airlines. However, it developed slowly and had to be abandoned in 2003 for economic reasons. After Alenia Aeronautica had signed a supply contract with Boeing and selected Grottaglie as the production site, the airport was significantly expanded, which in addition to its military role also played an important economic role in the region.

In 2018, the airport was selected by the aviation authority ENAC as the future launch site for horizontal space flights. The company Virgin Galactic wants to carry out suborbital space flights for science and space tourism there in the future .

Military use

The military section to the east of the runway is used by the Italian Navy as a naval aviation base , which has two airborne units stationed here.

Gruppo Aerei Imbarcati (GRUPAER), carrier squadron, equipped with AV-8B + / TAV-8B Harrier combat aircraft
4 ° Gruppo Elicotteri (GRUPELICOT 4), helicopter squadron with AB-212ASW (in phase out), SH-90A, MH-90A (in inflow) and Schiebel Campcopter S-100.

There is also a helicopter unit from the Guardia di Finanza .

Civil use

Boeing 747LCF in Grottaglie

On the civil part there are production facilities of the Leonardo company . It manufactures parts of the Boeing 787 here, which are flown to the USA on special Boeing 747LCF cargo aircraft . Some time ago the airport runway was extended to 3,200 meters for these cargo planes.

On the civil part there is also a small passenger terminal of the Apulian airport operator Aeroporti di Puglia SpA , which is also responsible for the nearby airports of Bari and Brindisi .

The proximity of these two airports means that there is currently no commercial air traffic in Taranto-Grottaglie for reasons of profitability. However, the airport is still open to both commercial and general aviation .

Web links

Commons : Taranto-Grottaglie Airport - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ Italian Navy AV-8B + Harrier 20th anniversary, The Aviationist, October 27, 2011
↑ Virgin Galactic: ALTEC, SITAEL, Virgin Galactic & The Spaceship Company Sign Framework to Bring Commercial Spaceflights to Italy for Science and Tourism. July 6, 2018, accessed July 10, 2018 .

[1] Italian Navy AV-8B + Harrier 20th anniversary, The Aviationist, October 27, 2011

[2] Virgin Galactic: ALTEC, SITAEL, Virgin Galactic & The Spaceship Company Sign Framework to Bring Commercial Spaceflights to Italy for Science and Tourism. July 6, 2018, accessed July 10, 2018 .