From 21,000 Passengers to Four Million: 40 Years of Florence Airport

Florence’s Amerigo Vespucci Airport is marking 40 years since the resumption of regular scheduled services, a milestone that helped launch four decades of sustained growth for the city’s airport.

On September 15, 1986, at 7:10 a.m., ATI flight BM963 departed Florence for Milan Linate. Operated by Alitalia’s regional carrier, the service marked the definitive return of scheduled commercial flights after decades in which connections from Florence had been limited and discontinuous.

A second ATI service to Milan Malpensa also began that day, followed on October 1 by a route to Rome Fiumicino, reconnecting Florence with three of Italy’s main airports.

The airport’s international expansion began in March 1987 with the launch of a Florence–Paris service operated for Air France by Europe Air/Brit Air using a Saab 340 turboprop. Paris would go on to become one of the airport’s strongest and most established international routes.

Later that year, connections were also introduced to Bastia, Munich and Lugano, as well as the first service to Sardinia, linking Florence with Olbia.

During the 1990s, the airport entered a new phase of development with the arrival of the four-engine BAe 146 regional jets, widely nicknamed “Jumbolini”. In 1991, Air UK launched the first direct service between Florence and London.

Growth accelerated again from 2013, when airlines including Vueling, Air Dolomiti and later Volotea established bases in Florence.

The aircraft serving the airport also changed significantly over time. After the turboprop era and the “Jumbolini”, Airbus A319 aircraft became a familiar presence. From 2017, newer-generation regional jets and narrow-body aircraft began operating at the airport, bringing lower noise levels and reduced emissions compared with older models.

Passenger numbers reflect the scale of the transformation. Between September and December 1986, the three domestic routes carried 21,034 passengers. In the first full year of operations, 1987, the figure rose to 71,208.

Florence Airport passed the 500,000-passenger mark in 1994, reached one million passengers in 1997, two million in 2014 and three million in 2023.

Toscana Aeroporti expects the airport to reach around four million passengers in 2026.

(Cover photo via Wikipedia)

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