Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Pisa International Airport, also known as Galileo Galilei Airport, is a dual-use civil and military aerodrome on the western edge of Pisa in Tuscany, Italy, and is one of the region's two principal airports alongside Florence. It offers a long, ILS-equipped runway pair and a mix of scheduled, low-cost and military traffic, making it a useful and interesting VFR and IFR destination for simulator pilots exploring Tuscany.
Pisa International Airport (ICAO: LIRP, IATA: PSA), commonly known as Galileo Galilei Airport after the Pisan-born scientist, sits at the western edge of the city of Pisa in Tuscany. It is jointly operated as a civil airport by Toscana Aeroporti S.p.A. and as a military base by the Aeronautica Militare Italiana, giving it an unusual character among Italian airports: alongside airline traffic it hosts the 46ª Brigata Aerea Silvio Angelucci, which flies C-130 Hercules and C-27J Spartan transport aircraft. For a simulator pilot, this mix of scheduled low-cost operations, general aviation and military heavy traffic on a long, well-equipped runway makes Pisa a lively and varied destination.
The airport lies close to the historic centre of Pisa, on the coastal plain of Tuscany near the mouth of the Arno river, with Florence Airport the other major aerodrome in the region. As a large international airport with mixed civil and military use, it sits within controlled airspace appropriate to its status as a major traffic hub, and pilots should expect to operate under the guidance of Pisa's approach, ground and tower services described below when arriving or departing the local area.
Pisa has two parallel hard-surfaced runways aligned north-east/south-west, both lit. The longer pair, 04R/22L, is 9,352 ft (with the reciprocal 22L end measured at 9,178 ft) and is equipped with an ILS on runway 04R. The second, parallel runway, 04L/22R, is 8,198 ft (with the reciprocal 22R end measured at 9,185 ft). The airfield lies at an elevation of 3 ft above mean sea level, reflecting its position on the flat Tuscan coastal plain.
Air traffic services at Pisa are provided on Approach 122.1 MHz, Ground 121.6 MHz and Tower 119.1 MHz. The field's runway 04R is served by an ILS approach, giving instrument-rated simulator pilots a precision approach option into the airport; the parallel runway 04L/22R has no published instrument approach in the data available.
The airfield was first developed for military use in the 1930s and 1940s and retains a strong Italian Air Force presence to this day, being home to the 46th Air Brigade and its C-130 and C-27J transport fleets. During the closing stages of the Second World War the airfield served as a base for the United States Army Air Forces' 15th Air Force. In the post-war decades the airport grew steadily as a civil gateway to Tuscany; it recorded strong passenger growth in the mid-2000s, becoming the fastest-growing of Italy's top fifteen airports in both 2006 and 2007, and later became a focus city for Ryanair. Delta Air Lines briefly operated direct flights to New York from 2007 until 2016. The airport has seen two notable accidents: on 27 January 1952 a Seaboard & Western Airlines Douglas C-54 overran the runway on landing and caught fire, and on 23 November 2009 an Italian Air Force KC-130J Hercules of the based 46th Air Brigade crashed shortly after take-off with the loss of all five crew.
Pisa remains a busy mixed-use airport, combining significant civil airline operations, largely low-cost carriers led by Ryanair, with an active Italian Air Force presence operating C-130 Hercules and C-27J Spartan transport aircraft from the same field. In 2024 the airport handled over 5.5 million passengers, its highest figure to date, reflecting continued growth in commercial traffic. Given its scale, mixed military and civil character and controlled airspace, prior permission is required for general aviation and simulator flights operating into Pisa.