Pisa airport, growth of passengers and earnings

FLORENCE, ITALY – The results 2011 by SAT (Galileo Galilei-Pisa’s airport management society) have been presented at Palazzo Strozzi Sacrati, headquarters of Tuscany Region in Florence.

“Galilei” has showed a new absolute historical record in 2011 for passengers traffic, overpassing the 4,5 millions, with a growth of 11,3%, superior of the average of national airports (+6,4%) and European ones (+7.3%).

To reach these results has contributed a series of factors like opening of the second Italian base by AirOne last July, with the inauguration of 5 out of 8 new routes of Summer season 2011 (Olbia, in Italy, Athens, Prague, Palma de Majorca and Menorca abroad).

A marked contribution arrived by Ryanair that has based its fifth airplane in Pisa already from last March 2011, in advance compared to the Summer season, increasing the number of frequencies served on national and international flights. In addition the links for seasonal destinations have begun again and increased the frequencies of destinations served all year, with the starting of Summer season and positioning of sixth and seventh aircraft. Pisa’s airport with 47 destinations reachable is the second Italian base and the ninth in Europe for destinations served by Irish airline.

The Galilei has obtained positive results also for cargo. The goods and mail traffic has recorded in 2011 a growth of 7,5% above that one of the Italian airport sector, equal to 2,3%.

The Galilei airport activity offers a strong economic impact for territory and for entire Tuscany. The Pisa’s air station has created in 2011 more than EUR 1 bn of economic impact on territory and about 6000 overall jobs (direct and indirect).

SAT during 2011 has continued into realization, in self-funding, of the development plan that is changing the ‘Galilei’ in a great regional airport, investing in the year EUR 12.1 million for building and reinforcement of airport infrastructures. Among the investments realized there are parking and road system of the front air station for passengers (EUR 1.6 million) and the completion of new Cargo Village (the overall investment is equal to EUR 10.5 million, 1,7 million of them regarding 2011). In addition works of the West part of air station have allowed an unification between check-in A and B, the improvement of the approaches and available, starting from March 2012, a new commercial area of about 290sm inside the check-in area.