An Entire Italian Airport Just Shut Down for a Month

Naples Capodichino Airport closed to all flights on November 1 and will stay closed through November 30 while its runway is rebuilt. Because it has a single runway, no flights can operate during the works. The operator, GESAC, issued its notice on October 12, and the project covers about 250,000 square meters of pavement plus new lighting and signalling, with roughly 500 workers on site around the clock.

The plan calls for 24 days of work plus six spare days for rain. Cost is reported at about 30 million euros, although one outlet cited 19.4 million in September. The contractor is ADR Infrastrutture. Salerno Costa d’Amalfi e del Cilento airport is taking 15 destinations, roughly a third of Capodichino’s traffic, including Transavia to Amsterdam and Paris Orly, Vueling to Barcelona, Iberia to Madrid, Eurowings to Düsseldorf and Stuttgart, and a daily flydubai service to Dubai.

Not every airline is moving. Lufthansa Group cancelled all November Naples flights and offers rebooking to Rome, while KLM and Volotea are not serving Naples during the closure. A bus runs from Naples Piazza Garibaldi to Salerno airport, eight trips a day each way at 12 euros per person per trip. Flydubai plans to resume Naples service on December 1.

Travelers should note that under EU rules, cash compensation generally does not apply when passengers were told more than 14 days ahead, though refunds or rerouting still do. The two outlets reporting on the closure differ slightly on some details, so anyone with a November booking should confirm the exact airport and time with their airline.

Sources: AeroCorner, Airways Magazine