Taranto-Grottaglie Airport

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Taranto-Grottaglie Airport

Aeroporto di Taranto-Grottaglie
AMSL
215 ft / 66 m
Coordinates40°31′03″N 017°24′11″E / 40.51750°N 17.40306°E / 40.51750; 17.40306
Map
Taranto is located in Italy
Taranto
Taranto
Location of airport in Italy
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
17/35 3,200 10,500 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers1,083
Passenger change 21-22Increase 10.1%
Aircraft movements913
Movements change 21-22Increase 2.1%
Cargo (tons)908
Cargo change 21-22Decrease -39.2%
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

Taranto-Grottaglie "Marcello Arlotta" Airport (Italian: Aeroporto di Taranto-Grottaglie "Marcello Arlotta") (IATA: TAR, ICAO: LIBG) is an airport serving Taranto and Grottaglie, both comunes in the province of Taranto in Italy. The airport is located 1.5 km (0.8 NM) from the city of Monteiasi, 4 km (2.2 NM) from Grottaglie and 16 km (8.6 NM) from Taranto. It is named for Marcello Arlotta (1886-1918), an Italian aviator.

Overview

The airport is used for

Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter, also known as Dreamlifter, lands at Taranto Grottaglie to pick up the parts and fly them to the Boeing factory at Paine Field and Boeing South Carolina at Charleston International Airport for final assembly. Those flights are operated by Atlas Air
. It is also known as Taranto-Grottaglie Airport or Grottaglie Airport. In August 2012, the broker ESAFLY announced that it plans to commence scheduled services from Taranto.[3]

History

In 1923 Grottaglie was a military airfield of Regia Aeronautica During

Italian Campaign
.

Known USAAF units assigned to the airfield were:

  • A-20 Havoc
    (12 AF)
  • B-25 Mitchell
    (12 AF)
  • 5th Reconnaissance Group, (F-5 (P-38) Lightning), November 1943 - 28 December 1944
  • B-24 Liberator
    (15 AF)
  • 416th Night Fighter Squadron, 30 Sep 1943-28 Jan 1944, Bristol Beaufighter (12 AF)[4][5]

Soon after the airport had been seized by the Allies in September 1943, 205th Battery from 89th (Cinque Ports) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, arrived to protect the USAAF build-up.[6]

After the war ended, the airfield was turned over to local authorities, and in 1950 was air base of 86º Gruppo Antisom 8Antisubmarine Warfare Wing) of Italian Air Force In 1979 was a Naval Air Station of Italian Navy.

Facilities

The airport resides at an

mean sea level. It has one runway designated 17/35 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,200 by 45 metres (10,499 ft × 148 ft).[1]

Spaceport

As of July 2018, there is an announcement of operating the aerodrome as a commercial spaceport.[7][8]

Accidents and incidents

On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, a Boeing Dreamlifter aircraft (registration N718BA) on its way to Charleston, South Carolina, United States as Atlas Air flight 5Y-4231, lost one of its front wheels after take-off from the airport. The wheel crashed near a highway adjacent to the airport. The flight crew decided to continue their flight and landed safely some 11 hours later at their destination.[9]

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at TAR airport. See Wikidata query.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Airport information for LIBG[usurped] from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
  2. ^ Airport information for TAR at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
  3. ^ volaspheric: Italian broker ESAFLY plans to commence scheduled services from Taranto
  4. ISBN 0-89201-092-4
    .
  5. OCLC 72556
    .
  6. ^ 89 HAA Rgt War Diary, 1943, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, UK, file WO 169/9547.
  7. ^ "Virgin Galactic". www.virgingalactic.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-10.
  8. ^ Horowitz, Jason (31 July 2018). "Ceramics Aren't Enough. Bring on the Spaceships, Italian Town Says". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Incident: Boeing BLCF at Taranto on Oct 11th 2022, dropped wheel on departure".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taranto Grottaglie Airport.
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