Florence Airport

Florence has one of the most unusual commercial airports in Italy. A single runway of about 1,560 meters, hills to the northeast, a motorway at the end of the runway and a city that reaches right up to the fence: in Peretola, everything is tight. That shapes which aircraft come, from which direction they land and how often an approach is aborted. For spotters, FLR is therefore less a place for volume than one for special situations – regional jets on a short approach, A319s braking hard and go-arounds in tailwinds.

A city airport with no room

Flying has a long history in Florence. The first airfield was at Campo di Marte in the east of the city from 1910; in 1931 its successor opened in the northwestern suburb of Peretola. After the war there were scheduled flights with the DC-3 and later with turboprops such as the Fokker F27, but the field stayed small. Only in the mid-1980s was it seriously expanded: the newly founded operating company extended the runway to 1,400 meters, installed lighting and radio navigation and rebuilt the terminal. From September 1986, regular scheduled service ran again, and in 1990 the airport was named Amerigo Vespucci.

A further extension in 1996 brought the runway roughly to its current length – there was no more room. To the northeast the hills around Monte Morello rise, to the southwest motorway and commercial areas bound the site. To this day the airport is only about five kilometers as the crow flies from Santa Maria Novella station. That is convenient for travelers and at the same time explains why every expansion immediately becomes political.

One runway, two directions, one problem

On paper, runway 05/23 is perfectly usable in both directions. In practice it looks different. Scheduled flights land on 05, that is, coming from the southwest heading northeast. Only this direction has an ILS approach. In the opposite direction, 23, the landing threshold is displaced, leaving just under 1,000 meters for touchdown and braking. After the accident of an ATR 42 in 1997, instrument landings on 23 were prohibited.

Takeoffs, by contrast, are mostly on 23 toward the southwest, away from the hills. Takeoffs on 05 are only possible to a limited extent, according to the airport’s safety analyses only in daylight and good visibility. That produces a picture you see at hardly any other airport: landings and takeoffs run against each other on the same runway, and both take place mainly at the southwestern end.

Why runways are named the way they are, and how to read them, is covered in the article on runway designations. The general principle of the runway direction in use is explained in Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport – in Florence it applies only to a limited extent, because the terrain largely dictates the direction.

Tailwind, fog and go-arounds

Normally, aircraft land into the wind. In Florence that is not always possible, because the landing direction is practically fixed. When the wind comes from the southwest, aircraft land on 05 with a tailwind. That lengthens the landing roll – a real problem on a short runway. Each airline sets its own limits, usually roughly in the range of 10 to 15 knots. If the tailwind is stronger, the crew goes around. A second attempt or a diversion to an alternate airport follows, often to Pisa or Bologna. The operator speaks of about 1,000 wind-related diversions per year.

Two further factors come on top. First, the terrain can trigger wind shear, especially with a northeast wind in winter. Second, in winter there is often fog on the plain between Florence and Prato. If visibility falls below the minimums, aircraft are diverted as well.

Which aircraft fit into Florence

The short runway is the most important filter for the fleet. Widebody aircraft do not come to Florence, and even classic medium-haul jets are at the limit. Everyday operations are shaped by regional jets and smaller narrowbody aircraft.

For airlines this means that in Florence they often cannot take off fully loaded or have to use smaller types. For you it means an idiosyncratic mix: lots of Embraer jets, lots of A319s and hardly any types above A320 size. If you want to tell the E-Jets apart, the article E170, E175, E190, E195 and E2 has the features; for the Airbus family, Telling the A318, A319, A320 and A321 apart helps.

Historically, by the way, Florence was also a stomping ground of the Avro RJ85: the four-engine jets of the BAe 146 family were built for short runways and came to Florence with CityJet, among others. Today this type has largely disappeared from scheduled service in Florence.

Airlines in Peretola

Florence is a purely European airport. The most important bases belong to Vueling, Volotea and Air Dolomiti. Vueling announced its base in late 2012 and has been one of the defining carriers at the airport ever since. Air Dolomiti, the Italian subsidiary of Lufthansa Group, flies Embraer jets and connects Florence with the group network.

In addition, the big network airlines connect Florence with their hubs. According to route overviews, Air France, KLM, Swiss, British Airways, Iberia, TAP, Aegean and, seasonally, SAS and ITA Airways fly to Peretola, among others. For KLM, the Embraer jets of KLM Cityhopper are typically to be expected on such routes. Which airline serves which route at any given time changes with the schedule; check the departures and arrivals board before your visit.

If you have been around longer, you remember other names: Alitalia flew from Florence as early as the DC-3 era, and Meridiana had a base in Peretola until 2011. Both companies are history.

Backtrack: turning on the runway

One detail that makes Florence interesting for photographers: the airport has no continuous parallel taxiway. After landing on 05, many aircraft roll far to the end of the runway, turn there and drive back along the runway to the apron. You may know this backtracking from small leisure airports. In Florence it means that many aircraft use the runway twice – once fast on landing, once slowly while taxiing back.

Something similar applies to departures on 23: aircraft taxi to the takeoff position and in part also use the runway for that. This makes operations slower and limits the airport’s capacity. For you as a spotter, it brings calm taxi shots with a full side profile, especially of compact types such as the E190-E2.

Light and locations

The runway runs from southwest to northeast. At midday the sun is in the south, that is, to the side of the runway. If you stand southeast of the runway looking northwest, you have the sun behind you for large parts of the day. On the northwest side you shoot mostly into the light during the day, and in the late afternoon it gets more interesting with side light. How to work this out for a specific day is explained in the article on the sun position at the photo spot; in Planetrack you use the sun position planner for that.

There is no designated visitor area like the one in Munich in Florence. The surroundings are densely built up, the A11 motorway runs close to the runway, and commercial areas and roads lie all around. The spot map in Planetrack shows you locations rated by other spotters, including directions, best light and community photos.

The long fight over the new runway

Hardly anyone disputes that the current runway is too short. What a new one should look like has been the subject of political and legal disputes for more than ten years. A first project envisaged a 2,400-meter runway with the orientation 12/30, parallel to the A11 motorway. After approval, the Tuscan administrative court overturned the environmental impact assessment in May 2019; municipalities of the plain and citizens’ committees prevailed, including before the Council of State. The project was finally dead in 2020.

The new Master Plan 2035 is smaller. It calls for a runway 11/29 of 2,200 meters, again almost parallel to the A11 and oriented so that the city is overflown less. According to the plans, the current runway becomes a taxiway, and a new terminal is added; the operator puts the total project at about 470 million euros. In November 2025 the environmental approval was published with numerous conditions, and in spring 2026 a corrective decree on the protected area in the plain followed.

The proceedings are not over yet. Several municipalities of the plain, including Sesto Fiorentino, Campi Bisenzio and Calenzano, as well as the province of Prato are suing again before the administrative court; the city of Prato wants to join the lawsuit (as of summer 2026). In May 2026, Toscana Aeroporti expected the decisive authorities’ conference in the fall and construction to start by summer 2027. Whether this schedule holds is uncertain – as of October 2026, flying in Peretola continues on the old runway.

Florence compared

Within Tuscany, Florence is the smaller partner. Pisa Airport, also operated by Toscana Aeroporti, handled just under six million passengers in 2025 and has significantly more low-cost traffic and larger types. Bologna Airport lies beyond the Apennines and is often the alternate when nothing works anymore in Florence.

If the topic of short runways near a city appeals to you, it is worth a look at London: London City Airport is an even more extreme example with a steep approach and likewise a heavily restricted fleet. Within Italy, Milan Linate is another airport close to the city, though with a longer runway. And if you want the full program in Italy, you will find it at Rome Fiumicino – tips are in the spotting guide for Fiumicino.

Conclusion

Florence Airport is the opposite of a hub: a short runway, a practically fixed landing direction, hills on one side and a motorway on the other. That is exactly what makes it interesting. The fleet is tailored to regional jets and smaller Airbus types, and in tailwinds or fog every landing becomes an open question.

Whether Peretola will look completely different in a few years with a new runway and a new terminal is for authorities and courts to decide. Until then, a visit is worthwhile precisely because of its quirks – if you check wind, light and schedule beforehand.