Airport Guide

History of Bari Airport

Like most of Italy's main airports, Bari's sole air travel terminal has military origins, being founded in the 1930s and then used first by the Italian Air Force and then by the Allied forces during the second world war.

Even when the fighting stopped, the airport remained a military base for more than a decade, welcoming its first civilian flights only in the 1960s.

This decade saw the introduction of regular Alitalia flights to a number of domestic destinations, including Ancona, Rome, Palermo and Venice.

Ongoing increases in passenger numbers and the introduction of long-distance jet-powered planes prompted a number of expansion projects throughout the 1970s and 80s, including the construction of a new passenger terminal in 1981.

With Italy welcoming tens of thousands of sports fans for the 1990 World Cup, further expansion was carried out to Bari Airport, while the rise in bargain flights to the south of Italy over more recent years has also driven further upgrades, culminating in the opening of a state-of-the-art passenger terminal in 2005.

Travelling to Bari Airport

There is no train service running to Bari Airport, though passengers are able to make use of regular and cheap bus services.

Meeting the first and final flights of the day and then running at regular intervals in between, the buses operated by Tempesta offer an easy link into Bari city centre from the airport terminals.

From the historic town, it's then possible to jump on a train and connect to numerous places within Italy, including Naples and Rome.

Additionally, the airport boasts a range of hire car options, while taxis also take passengers between the city centre and the airport, with this the quickest option at just 25 minutes.

Airlines Flying from Bari Airport

Having served Bari since the 1960s, Alitalia currently offers direct internal services to Milan and Rome, both under its own colours and as Air One, with the latter also flying to Bologna, Turin and Venice.

However, the former state airline is no longer the main presence at Bari Airport, with low-cost carrier Ryanair currently operating around 20 routes from the airport to destinations across Italy and the rest of Europe.

Domestically, the Irish no-frills carrier jets to Bologna, Cagliari, Genoa, Milan, Pisa, Trapani and Venice, while further afield it also links the town with Bratislava, Hahn, Karlsruhe, London, Madrid, Malta, Paris, Seville, Valencia, Weeze and Zadar.

At the same time, Air Berlin offers flights to Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Stuttgart and Zurich, while Lufthansa flies to Munich and Helvetic Airways also serves Zurich.

Air Italy jets to Verona and Olbia, while easyJet offers services to Milan and Rome; Meridiana Fly jets to Alghero and Venice and British Airways to London.

In terms of central and eastern Europe, Carpatair flies to Bucharest and Timisoara, while Tarom flies to Bucharest and Wizz Air to Budapest and Prague.

Additionally, Belle Air flies to Tirana, and EgyptAir Express offers direct flights to Mersa Matruh on a seasonal basis.