The airport has hosted a helipad for the Carabinieri ( Italy ’ s military police ) since 1975 , and a firefighter helipad and parachuting school since 1984 . A new control tower was built in 1987 . Until 2007 , the airport was used exclusively by the Carabinieri , firefighters , flight and parachuting schools , and small private aircraft . |
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That year saw the opening of the passenger terminal , together with a VOR system , a lighting system , and an extension of the runway to 1,654m ( 5,427ft ). The first flight was operated by a VolaSalerno ( OI ) single Bae146-300 on August 2 , 2008 , and quite a few airlines used the airport during the following eight years , mostly for summer services , flying tourists to the world-famous Costiera Amalfitana ’ s towns and beaches and to the ancient Greek ruins of Paestum , one of the bestpreserved Hellenic sites in the Mediterranean .
Operators included Air Dolomiti ( RN ), Skybridge Air
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2 The crew of the first easyJet flight from Milan Malpensa on the tarmac a few minutes after landing , showing a ‘ Primo volo ’ ‘ First flight ’ billboard . Pilots and Flight Attendants are joined by the airline ’ s Italian Country Manager , Lorenzo Lagorio ( third from the left )
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Ops ( KYB ), Danube Wings ( V5 ), Medavia ( 5M ), and , from December 2010 to March 2012 , even the then flag carrier Alitalia ( AZ ), which connected Salerno to Rome and Milan using Embraer ERJ-145s .
The extreme seasonality of the destination and competition from Napoli Capodichino ( NAP ), just 70km ( 43 miles ) north ,
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made commercial operations economically impractical . In the autumn of 2016 , Salerno ’ s management decided to stop passenger flights and close the terminal building .
Then came a pivotal moment . On November 1 , 2019 , GESAC , the operator running Napoli Capodichino , took over Salerno Airport from the
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