What’s new around Taranto?
Airfreight projects in Apulia and Calabria.
Taranto airport (TAR) is located close to the airports of Brindisi (BDS) and Bari (BRI), which are also operated by Aeroporti di Puglia. Now this proximity has led to TAR focusing on other business fields. Airfreight activities were given a boost in December.
Italy’s major centres of trade and industry, which depend heavily on reliable air cargo services, are located in and around Roman and northern metropolises. The 4 million inhabitants of the region of Apulia, located at the ‘heel’ of the ‘boot’ that Italy resembles on a map, have four international airports that they can use. The hub in Foggia (FOG) had its runway lengthened to 2,000 m last year; and Brindisi BDS only plays a passenger transport role. The gateway in the Apulian capital of Bari, however, handled 2,085 t of cargo and mail from January to November last year, or almost 10% less than in the like-for-like period last year. Taranto Grottaglie airport has a trump up its sleeve – the sixth-longest runway in Italy (3,200 m).
This feature means it is classified as an ‘airport of national interest’ in the national airport plan TAR. The civil part of the compound is home to a production facility run by Boeing supplier Alenia Aermacchi. It has been selected by the aviation authority Enac as a future launch pad for space flights requiring horizontal takeoffs.
Until these take place, TAR is set to be expanded into an integrated air cargo gateway. The corresponding work is set to start in January, to provide the hub’s existing airfreight activities with scope to improve, particularly in terms of storage capacities for reefer cargo. January–November 2021 saw volumes of 1,494 t handled, a 9.7% fall year-on-year.
Interconnecting the future air cargo site with the port of Taranto in the Jonica special economic and customs-free zone should help to attract full-freighter services. Alessandro Delli Noci, the assessor in charge of the economic development of the region, which holds a 99.6% stake in the airport, is speculating on the expansion of the New Silk Road. But even if hoped-for direct links with China, Russia, Dubai, Doha or the USA don’t materialise in the future – things are nevertheless happening in Taranto.