Flying to Florence for most people actually means flying to
Pisa’s Galileo Galilei airport, which is 80 minutes away by train.
Pisa is a central Italian hub and flights arrive from many European centres. A handful of European and domestic flights serve Florence’s smaller Amerigo Vespucci airport (which, in spite of its size, handles 1.7 million passengers a year). You could also fly into
Bologna and then grab a train south. For most intercontinental air travel you will have to change flights at least once, in
Rome,
Milan or another major European hub.
Within
Europe and especially from the UK, you should check with low-budget airlines. They work on a first-come, first-served basis: the earlier you book, the less you pay. These no-frills airlines skip extras such as in-flight meals (although you can buy snacks). From the UK, Ryanair serves
Pisa and EasyJet flies to
Bologna.
Within
Italy, air travel tends to be expensive. In the northern cities (eg from
Rome,
Milan and
Venice) it makes more sense to go by train, as the time saving by air is rarely that great and the economic savings by train are considerable. Alitalia and Meridiana are the main domestic airlines serving Florence,
Pisa and
Bologna.
Most airlines, especially the budget ones, encourage you to book on their websites. Popular websites to search for competitive fares include
www.planesimple.co.uk,
www.opodo.com and
www.expedia.com.
Airlines
Most airlines don’t have shopfront offices in Florence:
AerLingus Air Dolomiti Flights to
Pisa and
Bologna from
Munich.
Air One Flights to
Pisa and
Bologna from other Italian cities.
Alitalia The national airline, with flights to Florence from various Italian and European centres.
Basiq Air/Transavia Low-cost flights from
Amsterdam to
Pisa.
British Airways Flights from the UK to
Bologna and
Pisa.
Central Wings Low-cost flights from
Warsaw to
Bologna.
DBA Low-cost flights from
Berlin (Tegel & Tempelhof),
Cologne,
Düsseldorf,
Hamburg and
Munich to Florence.
Denim Airways Flights from Zurich to Florence and
Bologna.
EasyJet Flights to
Bologna from London Stansted, and to
Pisa from
Berlin,
Bristol and
Paris (Orly).
Flybaboo Flights from
Geneva to Florence.
Germanwings Flights between
Cologne and
Bologna.
Hapag Lloyd Expres Flights from
Berlin and other German cities to
Pisa.
Jet2 Budget flights from Manchester to
Pisa.
Meridiana Flights from
Amsterdam,
Barcelona, London Gatwick,
Madrid,
Sardinia and
Sicily to Florence. Also flies to
Bologna from
Sardinia and
Sicily.
MyAir An Italian budget airline with flights between
Bologna and a series of domestic destinations, and Spanish
Ibiza.
Norwegian Low-cost flights from
Oslo to
Pisa.
Qantas Airways Flights from
Australia to
Italy in codeshare.
Ryanair Flights from London Stansted,
Dublin,
Glasgow, Liverpool,
Barcelona (
Girona),
Brussels (Charleroi), Eindhoven (in
Holland) Frankfurt (Hahn),
Hamburg and
Lübeck to
Pisa.
SN Brussels Airlines Flights from
Brussels to Florence and
Bologna.
Snowflake This SAS subsidiary has flights from
Copenhagen to
Venice.
Sterling Flights from Denmark,
Norway and
Sweden to
Bologna.
Thomson Fly Flights from
Bournemouth,
Coventry and Doncaster/
Sheffield (UK) to
Pisa.
Airports
Florence’s
Amerigo Vespucci airport (
055 306 13 00, international flight info:
055 306 17 02;
www.aeroporto.firenze.it) is 5km northwest of the city centre at Via del Termine 11. The main building serves as the departures
(partenze) hall, while arrivals
(arrivi) is in a smaller building just to the rear of the building. In the latter you’ll find a tourist office, a lost-luggage office, car-rental outlets and an ATM. There’s a bank in the departures lounge. There is no left-luggage service at this airport.