No train, by car is a journey of hope: here's how to fly between Trapani and Catania
Aeroitalia operates the only domestic flight to an Italian region
AeroItalia
TFS
Born in the spring of 2022, the airline Aeroitalia opened in July a base in Forli with international destinations and in October three more bases: two in Bergamo Orio al Serio and one in Trapani. It was from the Sicilian city that the carrier's first flight debuted on November 4. towards Catania: è operated with a new machine, Air Connect's 68-seat ATR 72 600, which also operates flights to Cagliari and Florence from Birgi.
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Unique interregional flight in Italy
This flight, which after a stopover in Catania continues to Forli, is a unique flight on Italian soil. It is in fact the only internal flight to an Italian region. It connects the two ends, the western and eastern ends of Sicily, in just 50 minutes.
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Opportunities not only for tourism
This flight represents a great opportunity from both a tourism and business perspective. It stems, as Aeroitalia CEO Gaetano Intrieri said, from the lack of road and rail infrastructure on the island.
To get a good understanding of what the road and rail situation is: 340 km between Trapani and Catania can be traveled by car in no less than 4 1/2 hours, by train, then, it would take no less than 12 hours.
Flight duration and cost
With Aeroitalia, we took off at 07:27 from the runway of Birgi's "Vincenzo Florio" and landed at 8:18 at "Fontanarossa." spending for our round-trip ticket, bought on the company's website, just 85.99 euros.
At the airport
At the airport in Trapani, at 6:00 a.m. there are very few people: ended the summer season, which saw as many as 800 thousand passengers transit, flights have decreased and now there are fewer flights for winter.
Having checked in, we are asked only for ID and handed a standard ticket with a machine-readable code. Having gone through security, we await boarding at Gate 7.
The departure is set for 7:00 a.m., but they make us wait a few minutes and we embark along with the other 27 passengers On board a little late.
To get to the plane we walk, no need for buses, at Birgi the aircraft are parked a few dozen meters from the air terminal.
We thus climb aboard. AeroItalia's ATR 76 600 is a new, turboprop machine that is faster and quieter than its predecessor and manages to soar almost like a jet, avoiding turbulence at low altitude.
Despite its small size, compared to a 737, the cabin is very comfortable and well finished. The first thing that strikes you is the space between the seats, allowing you to move your legs comfortably, or rather, to put it bluntly, to be able to stretch them out comfortably.
The gray cloth upholstered seats are ergonomic and really comfortable; they also allow for a good seatback fold-down, which is great for those who are used to napping during flight.
The backrest in front, in addition to the slot for safety instructions and the small food shelf, has a convenient mesh storage bag, handy for putting a water bottle or a book
The plane is ready to move from the apron at 7:19 a little late, as mentioned, on the scheduled departure time. We start taxiing and when it's 7:22, we stop to allow another plane to land, at 7:27 engines at full throttle and, after a very short run-up, we come off the ground.
A few maneuvers to reach altitude and course, and after ten minutes, at 7:37 a.m., the belt lights go out, we are at altitude.
The stewardess and steward walk by offering passengers a small bottle of mineral water, a wipe and a glass, no snacks or anything else are provided. Too bad, they would have been appreciated by the passengers.
The arrival in Catania, Etna and the Ionian Sea.
At 8:00 a.m., after 33 minutes of perfect flight, we see Mount Etna on the left, Catania and further the Ionian Sea. For the first time, for yours truly it is a thrill, the fact that you can see a piece of your own land, the one that is at the opposite end in such a short time, and after waking up at dawn in their own city.
The plane goes over the sea, at one point I think it took the wrong course, but those who are not in the cockpit don't know, this is the course that allows you to set the landing, and after a few minutes, in fact, we reverse it and we aim for the Fontanarossa runway, where we touch down at 8:18.
A soft landing. We wait a few minutes to get to the parking lot and find the bus, here at Catania airport it is necessary. Just two minutes and we are in the air terminal and quickly we are out.
At the airport in Catania for the return to Trapani
If at Birgi the airport was "almost" deserted, at Fontanarossa it is totally the opposite, in no small part because it is Sicily's premier airport in terms of facilities and passenger traffic. The return flight is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.; we are at the airport an hour or so earlier.
At check-in, we are handed a hand-filled ticket, without a machine-readable code: once we get to the gates for screening, we have to ask an operator who, after making sure, opens the gate for us. The gate for departure is 10, but in the very large lobby of Fontanarossa, the gates are consecutive to each other and with many stores and bars for travelers to spend time and shop.
Another difference between a tiny airport like Birgi and Catania is the large electronic panels distributed in many places around the terminal, with info about departing flights. Attached they also have many convenient outlets for cell phones and tablets, with many people around checking their charging. We wait for boarding, but as with the outbound flight there is a bit of a delay. At 4:15 p.m. they announce boarding for Trapani. We are just 20 passengers back, the wait for boarding is prolonged.
Once we arrive near the plane they make us wait before getting off the bus, the pilot is down and doing his safety checks, including those on the rotor propellers. After a few moments we are given the go-ahead to board.
Delay and the return flight
At 5 p.m., half an hour after the scheduled departure time, we are yes on board but waiting to taxi for takeoff. At 5:10 p.m., we take off, the return flight is good, but with some very small turbulence due to bad weather.
The steward on board offers us a glass of mineral water, this time no bottle and no wipe, let alone the snack. At 5:54 p.m. we landed at Birgi, ending our experience with Aeroitalia's first Trapani - Catania flight.
In conclusion
Definitely a positive judgment, the ATR 72 600 is a comfortable and fast machine. Despite two delays on both flights, round trip, we give confidence to this young company. That may be okay since it was the first flight and the company has yet to "oil" gears and mechanisms.
Definitely a very valid offer, because of the price at which it is offered and because of the advantages, both from a tourist point of view, allowing you to visit the two extreme shores of Sicily, but also for commuters who, for work or other reasons, manage to do everything in a day.
Ps. if they offered a dessert or snack on the next flight, that would be perfect....
