Forli Airport (FRL)

Forli is one of the airports serving towns in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and is otherwise referred to as the Luigi Ridolfi Airport, after a well-known Italian aviator. For distinguish from other similar establishments, it is allocated the IATA code of FRL, and it’s ICAO code is listed as LIPK. In Italian, the airport is referred to as the Aeroporto di Forli – ‘Luigi Ridolfi’. It is only a small destination, with a few hundred thousand passengers per annum, but is nonetheless considered as an important gateway. The terminal building is well equipped for arriving and departing passengers, and various ground transport options are available.

Forli airport serves the city of the same nam, which is a commune of the Emilia-Romagna region. It is also the capital city of the province of Forli-Cesena (FC). Cesena is also nearby, just a few kilometres to the south-west. The city centre is only four kilometers away, and can easily be reached in fifteen to twenty minutes, by car, bus or taxi. The airport is located just next to the small areas of Villa Selva, Carpena and Ronco, while the city of Forli is nearby to the towns of Forlimpopoli, Castrocaro Terme a Terra del Sole, Faenza and San Giorgio. On a larger scale, the city can be described as south-west of Modena and Bologna, south of Comacchio and Ravenna, north-west of Prato and Florence and north-east of Cesena and Rimini. To the east are the coastal areas of Cervia and Cesenatico, and visitors often head for the beaches along the Mediterranean Sea. Further coastal areas to the south-east include Riccione, Cattolica, Pesaro, Fano and Falconara Marittima, and Ancona is about 122km away.

By motor vehicle, Bologna is about a 70 kilometre drive from the airport of Forli, and can therefore be reached in less than an hour. The roads which can be used include the large A14 (Autostrada) and the SS9, or the Via Emilia. The A14 is useful for southern coastal areas as well, and the SS67 provides access to the north (Ravenna) and to Florence in the south-west. Florence is about 177km from Forli. There is also the A1 which connects Florence to Bologna, and this route can be followed to or from the airport as well. Another important road in the vicinity is the SS3bis, heading north to Ravenna from Cesena, and south towards Mercato Saraceno and Bagno di Romagna. The airport’s access road is known as the Via Carlo Seganti.

Ground transport options from Forli Airport include by bus and taxi, but not by rail, as there is no train station on site. Local buses serve the airport and take passengers to the Forli Train Station, and minibuses can be hired for a minimum of four persons to locations such as Cervia and Cesenatico. There may also be buses available to Bologna, and a larger variety of services in the busier summer months. A taxi rank can be found outside of the terminal, from where taxis can be taken to any location. A trip to the train station will cost eleven Euro.

Forli is currently served by only two airline companies, namely, Wizz Air and Belle Air. In previous years, Ryanair was part of the airport’s operations, with flights to London-Stansted and Frankfurt-Hahn, but the company decided to move it’s operations to the larger Bologna. Wizz Air is the airline carrier with the majority of flights from the destination, and is a company that carries around ten million passengers per annum. They have a fleet of thirty-five Airbus A320 aircraft which operate from fifteen base locations, in the countries of Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Lithuania. For the summer of 2012, Wizz Air has announced that they will be increasing their flights from Forli to the destinations of Bucharest and Timisoara. Additional destinations served by Wizz Air include Warsaw-Modlin, Cluj-Napoca, Budapest, Sofia and Katowice, while Belle Air serves the destinations of Tirana and Pristina.

In 2011, the airport handled approximately 346,000 passengers, which was a 46% drop from the previous year. It is also a figure which is far below the achievements of years such as 2008, when the airport saw almost 780,000 passengers. Many European airports have had a decline in traffic over the last few years, and hopefully they can once again achieve the high statistics recorded from 2006 to 2008.

Forli Airport is managed by SEAF S.p.A, and they are responsible for controlling and co-ordinating the activities of the various private operators present at the airport. In 2006, SEAF was awarded the ‘Airport Operator’ certificate by Enac, stating their expertise is sufficient to comply with the high technical safety standards.  The facilities consists of one terminal building and one runway of 2,560 metres in length, and is open eighteen hours a day, or for twenty-four hours upon request. The air terminal has a ground floor area of 5,880 square metres, and a first floor for departure proceedings of 430 square metres. At present, the airport’s size is adequate for the number of passengers that pass through it. There are two boarding areas, eleven check-in counters and eight gates, as well as three baggage reclaim conveyor belts. Further facilities include a few shops and restaurants, a duty-free store, cash machines, first aid services, information counters for general enquiries and tourism details, public telephones and car rental companies. The terminal is completely accessible to disabled passengers. Outside, there are approximately 810 parking spaces for private vehicles.

Further details regarding the airport information is available from the personnel at the information desk, or the staff can be contacted at +39 0543 474990.

FRL is the official IATA code for Forli Airport. It is also known as Luigi Ridolfi It is possible to enter the following GPS coordinates 44.20000, 12.06667 to aid you in your travelling to and from Forli.

Find below a choice of Forli Airport airlines, destination and flight times.