Throughout its history, the Sicilian city of Catania has experienced many wars and natural disasters due to the proximity of Mount Etna. However, the places here are fertile, the climate is mild, the atmosphere is colorful. And the best view of the volcano, according to tourists, opens during take-off and landing of aircraft. Perhaps that is why Catania Fontanarossa Airport is the fifth in Italy in annual passenger traffic. Who will abandon the spectacle of an active volcano?
The length of the airport runway is 2438 m. For the convenience and speed of passenger serviceSicily airport It has 20 gates and 6 terapraps, and annually up to 10 million people pass through the terminal.
The content of the article
1. History of Catania Airport: A Short Course
2. Scheme and scoreboard of the airport
3. Buses from Catania Airport to the city
4. Buses to Taormina and other cities
5. Airport Taxi
6. Cars from the airport
7. Useful links
Catania Airport History: A Short Course
Catania International Airport (code - CTA) was founded in the village of Fontanarossa in 1924. Today, the distance to the airport is only 5 km, and even then it was a little more. After World War II, it was hardly used even for domestic flights.
But by the mid-50s. last century Catania Airport It was recognized as quite promising, primarily in terms of tourist traffic and business travel. Its terminal was named after the famous geophysicist Philip Heredia, a native of these places.
In 1981, the airport of Catania was completely reconstructed for the first time, since the calculations of experts regarding its demand were fully justified, and the old infrastructure could not cope with the increased passenger flow.
View of the active volcano Etna from the plane
By the beginning of the new century, it became clear that a new terminal was needed, which was opened on May 5, 2007. It received the name of the outstanding Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini, who was born in Catania. So the ticket can be printed and simply "Catania Airport", and "Fontanarossa", and "Vincenzo Bellini."
The airport receives and sends domestic and international flights (Europe, CIS and the Middle East). In order not to retell the changing schedule, it is better to independently study current flights, prices and connections using the Aviasales metasearch engine.
Scheme and scoreboard of the airport
Large passenger traffic is not yet an indicator that the terminal itself is huge. On the contrary, tourists speak of him as "compact" and, what pleases, competently organized.
Catania Airport Map and a detailed plan of the surrounding area is given below. The terminal premises and the entrances also have an airport map in Italian and English.
Diagram of Catania Airport and surrounding area
You can find out the time of arrival and departure of flights, as well as their status usingCatania Airport online scoreboard:
The airport board is, of course, on the territory of the terminal. Please note: the help desk is only open during daylight hours and you can only call for help if you have a good command of Italian or English.
Buses from Catania Airport to the city
Catania can be the end point of a route or a departure point to another city or even a country (for example, Malta, where ferries regularly depart). Well, buses from the airport to the city, more precisely, to the railway station, run from 5:00 to 24:00 every 20 minutes. Route number 457 is ALIBUS.
Bus tickets can be purchased at the box office at the bus stop located at the old terminal, about 150 meters from the new one.
Buses from the airport to the city station run every 20 minutes
Ticket price for 90 minutes is € 4 (2019), travel time to the city is only 20 minutes, and if you need to make a transfer at the railway station or at intermediate stops, it will still be valid.
In addition, AMT entered into an agreement with railway workers under the auspices of the Catania municipality. So after using Alibus on the same ticket until the end of 90 minutes, you can take the train to the desired hotel in the city.
Buses to Taormina and other cities
Through Catania Airport there are buses to Taormina. The fare is € 8 (2019).
A bus ride from the airport to Taormina takes about an hour and a half, but the number of daily flights is highly dependent on the season. You can check the current schedule and prices for the dates of your trip, as well as purchase tickets online on the site Omio.ru former GoEuro.
You can leave for Taormina directly from the airport
Other intercity buses (ETNA and SAIS companies) from / to Palermo, Agrigento, Messina and even Rome stop at Piazza Giovanni XXIII, where the railway station is located.
Interbus buses depart from Piazza Armerina. Direction - Taormina and Syracuse. From the street Luigi Sturzo, 220 (via Luigi Sturzo, 220) there are A.S.T. buses traveling to Ragusa and, in addition, specializing in excursions (for example, to Modica and to the Villa Palagonia) and for delivering tourists to the ferry pier in Porstsallo.
Airport Taxi
Parking taxi from Catania airport to the city They are located to the left of the exit from the terminal and at the old terminal: if you wish, you can take the car here.
However, travelers who do not have at least basic knowledge of Italian should be aware that the Italian authorities have been struggling for many years with taxi drivers trying to “warm up” on newly arrived tourists - everything is like ours.
Of course, this is not found everywhere, but, you must admit, traveling in circles, winding the counter, is not a pleasant pleasure. Moreover, the driver can always refer to a lack of knowledge of English (which is very common).
You can get around this phenomenon by ordering a taxi from Catania Airport to the desired place online. Such a service appeared with the spread of the Internet and is very popular in Sicily.
When ordering a car online, the driver meets passengers at the exit from the baggage claim area, holding a sign with the name of the customer.
The main advantage of ordering a taxi online is that passengers pre-calculate the fare (even before ordering the service), and therefore there is no reason for the driver to carry them in circles.
All details regarding the upcoming trip come to the passenger’s email immediately after placing the order.
You can find out details, calculate the fare for your trip and order a taxi from Catania Airport online on the official website of the service.
Car from the airport
Car rental at the airport of Catania for a trip to Sicily is not difficult. On the territory of the terminal there are representative offices of almost all the leading international distributors - Hertz, Sixt, Avis, Europcar, etc.
But on-site car rental will cost more, and choosing the right option, especially in high season, can be unrealistic.
Booking a transfer or taking a car from Catania Airport is easy
Visiting the offices of all companies under time pressure or a limited budget is also an amateur pleasure. Moreover, some nuances (for example, insurance features, limited mileage, etc.) "pop up" even when registering a car and with a quick acquaintance with the offers of distributors are not detected.
In order not to spoil the nerve cells in place, it is better to search and compare offers from various companies in advance. Moreover, in Europe, prices and terms comparison services have long been practiced, allowing you to "filter out" the best offer in a matter of minutes.
One of these services (called Rentalcars) was developed by the creators of the popular hotel portal Booking.com.
Rentalcars system allows you to filter the best car rental offers in anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes and instantly book it until the cost has changed. This is especially advantageous and convenient on the eve of the high season in Sicily, when prices change almost every hour.
Useful links:
- Catania Airport
- Sicily Inspiring Hotels: TOP 5 BlogoItaliano
- Buses from Catania Airport to the city
- Intercity buses from Catania (portal for several companies)
Photos by: potoole3, Kathleen Hubbard, Matthias Luft, Boris Behncke.
