Florence isn’t just struggling with the rush of commuters this summer. There is also a chronic infrastructure problem at the Italian airport.
Florence has an airport close to the city since the 1930s. Unfortunately, this has been hilarious for years. The runway is only 1,750 meters long, which is too short for efficient flight operations.
As early as 1939, the airport in Tuscan opened a 1,000-meter asphalt runway, which was later expanded to its current 1,750-meter length. This is sufficient for aircraft up to the size of an Airbus A319 or Boeing 737. However, the maximum is possible only in ideal cases, as is currently shown.
Heat and wind became a problem
Because of the high temperatures and strong winds that reign in Florence again and again, airlines have to reduce their capacity again and again for weight reasons. Passengers on other flights will then be rebooked at short notice. Austrian Airlines is also affected by the special situation in Florence, the spokesperson confirms.
The Austrian airline decided a few years ago not to use the full capacity of its Embraer E195 in Florence, but only for about 90 percent. Ticket sales will be suspended early. However, on days with exceptional conditions such as high temperatures and strong winds, sales restrictions may not be sufficient and further reductions may be necessary.
Only 86 passengers in Austrians E195
As in the case of the E195 used by Austria, this could mean that instead of 120 passengers, only 86 could start the journey back to Vienna. The remaining passengers must be rebooked on other airlines. The same thing happens over and over again with many of the 22 other airlines that are active in Florence.
In order to create opportunities to handle larger types of aircraft and meet the growing demand, the construction of a second runway, with a length of more than 2000 meters, has been under consideration for 20 years. In 2014, it looked as though construction of the $300 million ramp project in Florence was imminent. However, the construction project was again suspended by a regional administrative court two years later following a corruption scandal.
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