Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Naples International Airport (LIRN), also known as Capodichino, is the principal gateway to southern Italy, lying just north-northeast of the city centre beneath the slopes overlooking the Bay of Naples. A busy single-runway commercial field with full radar approach and tower service, it is also one of Italy's oldest aviation sites, its history stretching back to the earliest days of powered flight.
Naples International Airport, officially Aeroporto di Napoli-Capodichino Ugo Niutta, is the main airport serving the city of Naples and the wider Campania region. It sits in the Capodichino area within the San Pietro a Patierno district, a few kilometres north-northeast of the historic centre. For a visiting VFR or IFR sim pilot it offers the chance to fly into a large, busy commercial aerodrome with a long aviation pedigree, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius. The airport is operated by Gesac and today serves as an operating base for easyJet, Ryanair, Volotea and Wizz Air.
The aerodrome lies about 3.2 nautical miles north-northeast of Naples city centre, in the Capodichino area of the San Pietro a Patierno district. As a major international airport it is served by its own radar approach and director service (Napoli Radar and Napoli Director) as well as tower and ground clearance delivery frequencies, indicating a well-developed area of controlled airspace surrounding the field. Pilots should expect to be worked by approach control well before joining the pattern given the volume of scheduled traffic using the single runway.
Naples has one physical hard-surfaced runway aligned 06/24, lit and equipped with ILS on both directions. Declared lengths differ slightly between the two ends: runway 06 is 7,308 feet long and runway 24 is 8,005 feet long. Field elevation is 292 feet.
Naples provides a full suite of ATC services. Approach control is Napoli Radar on 124.35 MHz, with Napoli Director on 120.95 MHz. The tower operates as Napoli Tower on 118.5 MHz, and ground clearance delivery is Napoli Ground Clearance Delivery on 121.9 MHz. The ATIS broadcasts on 135.975 MHz. Additional frequencies listed include USN Base Ops on 118.275 MHz, ATOC on 118.275 MHz, and PMSV Metro on 34.1 MHz. Both runway ends are served by ILS.
The site has a long aviation history dating back to the Bourbon-era Campo di Marte, a flat 44-hectare parade ground established by Joachim Murat in 1816 at an elevation of some 72 metres. Aviation use began on 5 May 1910, when three foreign aviators and one Italian carried out the first aircraft demonstrations there, and sporting aviation events continued until 1913. On 23 April 1912, Rosina Ferrario, the first Italian woman to hold a pilot's licence, flew over Naples and dropped red carnations over the city as a tribute. The First World War brought military use, and after the German Zeppelin LZ 104 bombed Naples on the night of 10-11 March 1918, killing around thirty people, the airfield was expanded and its air defences strengthened. A civil air terminal opened in 1919 to serve seventeen airliners. Under the Regia Aeronautica the field became Campo di Marte Military Airport and home to the Accademia Aeronautica, gaining two hangars, one able to accommodate a small airship. It was named after decorated WWI pilot Ugo Niutta on 19 June 1921, and further land was expropriated by Royal Decree in 1925 to allow expansion. From 1935 to 1939 it hosted the Regia Aeronautica's Scuola specialisti. During the Second World War the airport was home to the 22º Gruppo autonomo caccia terrestre, flying Macchi C.202 Folgore, Reggiane Re.2001, Macchi C.200 and Fiat CR.42CN fighters, later joined by Dewoitine D.520s and Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario aircraft. Following the Allied landings it was used extensively by Allied air forces during the Italian campaign, first by No. 324 Wing RAF with its Supermarine Spitfire squadrons from 1943, and subsequently by United States Army Air Forces units. The airport reopened for civil use in 1950.
Naples remains a major commercial airport, operated by Gesac, and serves as a base for easyJet, Ryanair, Volotea and Wizz Air, handling substantial scheduled and charter traffic. The terminal facility itself is open from 03:30 to 22:30, outside of which passengers are not permitted to remain inside. The single runway is lit and equipped with ILS on both ends, and the field is supported by full radar approach, director, tower and clearance delivery services suited to high-volume operations.