Trapani Airport Departures (TPS)

Trapani Airport is located approximately 15km, or 9.2 miles south of Trapani, the capital city of the Province of Trapani, in the Sicilian region of Italy. It handles the third largest amount of passengers out of all the airports on the island, and is an important air gateway for the western towns and cities. It is a well equipped airport, with a new departure area, and is served by a few airline companies, such as Ryanair who handles the majority of Trapani Airport departures. Passengers can reach the airport by a number of transport options, and there are adequate parking facilities available for travellers in private vehicles.

Trapani Airport, with the official IATA code of TPS, is otherwise referred to as the Trapani-Birgi Airport, or as the Vicenzo Florio Airport. Vicenzo Florio was a Sicilian wine industrialist and auto enthusiast. The airport is also used for military purposes, and this portion of the establishment is entitled to the Italian aviator Livio Bassi. The location of the airport is particularly nearby Birgi-Novo, Birgi Vecchi, Torre San Teodoro and Villaggio Azzurro, and is to the south of Trapani and Paceco, to the north of Mazara del Vallo and Marsala and to the west of Calatafimi-Segesta. West of the airport is the Mediterranean Sea and a few islands. From Trapani, departing passengers can reach the airport on the SP21 or the SS115, and the same roads are followed from the south as well. The major Autostrada in the vicinity is the A29, and this road provides access from Palermo, the capital city of the region. There are two car parks available. P1 is the medium to long-term car park and P2 is ideally used for shorter stays. They are both nearby to the terminal building, and convenient for the use of all passengers.

Departing passengers can travel to Trapani Airport by bus or taxi, if they would rather leave their vehicle at home, or if they are a visitor in Sicily. Terravision operates a regular bus service from Palermo, which passes the city centre of Trapani, and from Trapani as well, a bus operated by the company AST is available. The airport buses are a very convenient and cost effective form of transport, and their times will generally correspond to the flight schedules of Trapani Airport departures. Taxis are another way to reach a departure flight, but passengers travelling by train on the island will have to take the airport bus service, as there is no train station on the airport grounds.

Trapani can be considered as a low-cost airport, with it’s flights mainly handled by the airline companies of Ryanair, Air One and Meridiana Fly. In 2009, Ryanair chose Trapani Airport as one of it’s bases, and since then the airport has achieved a significant increase in passenger traffic. Traffic jumped from just over 500,000 to over a million per annum, and the year 2010 ended with over 1.5 million passengers. Ryanair, Trapani Airport departures, are flown to the following destinations: Ancona, Beauvais, Bergamo, Bologna, Budapest, Genoa, Hahn, London, Madrid, Parma, Rhodes, Rome, Trieste, Valencia, Venice-Treviso and Weeze, as well as others. Meridiana fly operates a flight to the island of Pantelleria, and Air One has flights to Milan-Malpensa Airport.

The single terminal building of Trapani Airport is a modern establishment, with a variety of facilities useful for arriving and departing passengers. Since it’s renovation in 2009, all departure proceedings are handled from the first level, and here there is also an 800 square metre area dedicated to shops and food and beverage facilities. The arrivals hall is on the ground floor, along with airport information desks, the car hire companies and a bar/restaurant known as ‘My Chef’, which has been part of the airport facilities since 2010. ATMs, WiFi connections and duty-free stores may also be available, but there are no business facilities for corporate passengers. The entire terminal building is accessible to disabled passengers. There are eighteen reserved parking spaces, a friendly room on the ground floor which is attended by specialists, elevators, pavement ramps and ‘Ambulift’ services for the boarding of airplanes by passengers in wheelchairs. Assistance can also be arranged from the concerned airline company, in advance of the Trapani Airport departure flight.

Always arrive in good time for your flight, approximately an hour before a domestic departure and up to three hours before an international flight. Passengers should also arrive earlier if they are travelling with young children, have awkward luggage items or require special assistance of any kind. There are the usual check-in desks in the airport terminal, and some airline companies may allow online check-in. Once the passenger has checked in, signs to the boarding area can be followed, and the security control checks will need to be passed. Show the officials your boarding pass and valid ID document, and place all metal objects and other personal items on the container for the X-ray machine. All liquid items in hand luggage should have been placed in a separate, transparent and re-sealable plastic bag for inspection. The liquids must be no more than 100ml each, and the entire bag should contain no more than a litre of contents. Any large electrical or electronic device will be separately inspected as well. The passenger can now cross through the metal detectors.

Each airline company has their own requirements regarding the size and weight of hand and hold luggage items, and have various regulations regarding babies and small children, and the travel of unaccompanied minors. The details of the airline’s regulations are shown on the back of their airline tickets. However, always inform your airline company should you be travelling with a baby, or if you require special assistance.

Live Trapani Airport departure schedules are available online, from various airport websites, or passengers can contact airport personnel at +39 0 9238402 for all further enquiries.