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Lodrino (ICAO LSPR) is a small airfield in the Riviera district of Ticino, Switzerland, built on the site of a former Swiss Air Force base. It offers a single hard-surfaced, lit runway aligned 16/34, set in the mountainous Ticino valley, and today serves general aviation and helicopter operations on a site with a long military aviation history.
Lodrino is a small airfield on the right bank of the Ticino river in the Riviera district of the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. Originally built as a Swiss Air Force base, it has since transitioned to civilian use, retaining a single hard runway and a history that will interest sim pilots keen on flying into an Alpine valley strip with a strong military heritage.
The airfield lies in the Ticino valley near the village of Lodrino, part of the Riviera municipality, on the right bank of the Ticino river in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.
Lodrino has one physical runway, 16/34, surfaced in hard material and lit, with a length of approximately 2226 feet on runway 16 and 2225 feet on runway 34. The field has no instrument landing system.
There is no instrument landing system at Lodrino.
A notable landmark near the field is the A2 motorway, which historically was pressed into service as a reserve runway during exercises.
A small military airfield, the Lodrino Air Base (Militärflugplatz Lodrino), has operated on this site since 1943, serving the Swiss Air Force. Fighter types based here over the years included the de Havilland Venom and Hawker Hunter. The field was used as the alternate aerodrome for Locarno, with PC-7 basic trainers practising circuits and PC-6 aircraft dropping paratroopers of Armee-Aufklärungsdetachement 10 and Fallschirmaufklärer Kompanie 17 for jumps over the Locarno area. An additional hangar was added in 1949, and the field gained a helicopter landing spot in 1973 followed by a dedicated helicopter hangar in 1977. During the 1980s Lodrino developed into an important logistics base, beginning support of F-5 Tiger components in 1980. In 1988 it became the testing airfield for the Pilatus PC-9, and a year later an engine overhaul centre opened there for the Hawk Mk66's Adour engine and for Super Puma engines. In November 1991 the adjacent A2 motorway was used as a reserve runway for the first time. Since 1943 the airfield has continued in operation, and it is now also used as a civilian helicopter landing site.
The airfield, now often referred to as Riviera Airport, occupies the site of the former Lodrino Air Base and continues to be used for civilian helicopter operations.
