Florence airport – general information
For most of you, flying is the simplest way to reach Tuscany. Florence has a small airport (Aeroporto di Peretola, FLR), located in the northwest part of the city, it is around 10 km (6 miles) from the town center, where under normal traffic conditions a taxi ride should take around 30 minutes.
Florence airport is dedicated to Amerigo Vespucci, the famous explorer and navigator born in Florence, who first understood in 15th century that the new lands discovered by Cristoforo Colombo was not the eastern part of Asia, but a completely new land. In honor of his explorations, the new world was named “America”.
Florence airport is served by multiple air carriers: ITA with connections in Rome Fiumicino, Lufthansa with connections in Frankfurt and Munich, Air France-KLM with connections in Paris and Amsterdam, Austrian Airlines with connections in Wien, Swiss airlines with connections in Zurich, TAP with connections to Lisbon, British with connection to London Heathrow, and, during the tourist season, you will find low-cost carriers with direct connection to more minor airports.
As of the date of this post, the news report an intense tourist season with a forecast of about 4 million passengers in 2023.
So far so good! It seems that all you need to do is book your flight with your preferred air carrier and pack your bags! Unfortunately, it is not as simple as this. The Florence airport is also famous for the high number of flight delays, diversions and cancellations. Let’s see why.
Florence airport – the shortest runway
Florence airport has one of the shortest runways for commercial civilian flights in Italy and Europe. Its runway is 1530 meters long, 30 meters wide, ends just before a small mountain, so it can only be used south->north to land and north->south to take off. The runway is also very unfavorable due to the prevailing wind direction.
Now, without going into technical details (where I am not expert), if you travel to this airport often, you will have experienced all the problems this short runway is causing:
- In winter (from November to April approximately): even in case of light rain or wind, incoming flights are diverted, maybe after the first landing attempt. If you are landing and your flight is diverted, you will end up at Pisa airport (if you’re lucky), or at Bologna, Genova, Rome Fiumicino airports (if you are unlucky). If you are departing, your plane will simply not arrive at the airport and will be cancelled
- In summer (especially July and August): temperatures can rise a lot, above 40 degrees, and this happens more and more every year. In these conditions, with reduced air density, the aircraft needs a higher speed to take off, and consequently a longer runway. When our runway is not long enough, the air carrier will have to reduce weight, unloading luggage, or asking for some passengers to disembark. News in 2022 reported over a thousand disembarked bags, as a daily average, accumulated in the airport, waiting to reach final destination, throughout the whole summer!
- In any case, when your flight is about to land, the landing is going to be tough! So, make sure your seat belt is tight, hang back in your seat and pay attention to your smartphone – or you will have to ask the front row passengers to collect it!
Well, as you can understand, all this is very inconvenient, as you will lose a day of your trip in case you’re diverted to another airport, or you lose your flight connection while leaving. This unfortunately happens very frequently.
Furthermore, strikes are also quite common. Strike occur more frequently on Fridays, especially during tourist seasons and close to holidays periods.
Oh, I scared you so much and you are about to cancel all of your trip? Wait! Let’s see how to survive to the airport mess:
- What to look for when booking your flight to or from Florence?
- What happens and what to do when my flight to Florence gets diverted?
- What happens and what to do when my flight from Florence gets cancelled?
Florence airport – directions from and to town center
Using public transport
Finally, after a long flight, you have just arrived in Florence and you need to get to the city? The easiest and cheapest choice for you is the light tram service, which started in 2019 and connects directly the airport with the city center. The tram railway end just at the main Florence train station, Firenze Santa Maria Novella. When you leave the Florence airport terminal, just walk left.
The cost of the ticket (from August 2023) is 1.70 € per person. Be careful, as if you bring more than one piece of hand baggage, additional costs will apply. It is not allowed to carry more than 20 kg baggage, and there is no dedicated baggage storage on board.
There is a run every 5 – 6 minutes, from 5:00 AM to 12:30 AM. Fridays and Saturdays, the service is prolonged till 2:00 AM. If your late flight is unfortunately delayed, you may miss the last tram.
The tram service will bring you in Florence town in 30 minutes. The service is generally reliable.
By taxi
Finally, after a long flight, you have just arrived in Florence and you need to get to the city? If your destination is not reachable by tram service, or you prefer to travel more comfortably, taxis are available, going to the right when you exit the Florence airport terminal.
In fact, you will likely see long lines of taxis waiting for you in the winter, and a long line of people waiting for a taxi in summer. During busy periods, you may have to wait up to 2 hours for a taxi.
Taxi will take you to the city center in around 30 minutes, but, depending on traffic conditions, it could take up to 1 hour. Cost of a ride ranges from 25€ upwards, depending on destination, the number of people and the luggage.
Uber or other app-based taxi services are not legal in Italy. Only regular taxis with TAXI sign on the car are allowed. Normally, you will not find illegal taxis at the airport.
On foot
Finally, after a long flight, you have just arrived in Florence. You are travelling light, small luggage, and you are going to the northern area of Florence which is withing walking distance from the airport. So, can you save some money for the taxi and get out of the airport on foot? I am sorry to inform that this is impossible!
To be precise, it is possible to leave the Florence airport on foot, but you will have to cross the A11 motorway, which is extremely dangerous. Beware of GPS systems, they will suggest you to cross the motorway! I have seen someone doing so. Don’t do it, or do it at your own risk!
If your flight was not delayed in the middle of the night, there is a workaround to get out of Florence airport for free. You need to use the free rent-a-car free shuttle, which connects the Florence airport terminal with the car rentals. The shuttle is a free airport service, running approximately every 15 minutes. You can take the shuttle right in front of the terminal.
You will get off at car rentals. No chance of getting lost – the bus is only going to the car rental area!
You can clearly use this solution in the other direction too, to reach the airport!
When you get off the shuttle bus at the car rentals, you can walk out safely (there are crosswalks and traffic lights). However, pay attention, as the area of Florence around the airport is in fact quite dangerous, especially at night. I would discourage doing it alone or for a small group of girls.
Personally, I have done so many times, especially before the light tram system was built. When you see the queue for taxi is longer that 2 hours (it happens!), walking out can be an option!
By rental car
Finally, after a long flight, you have just arrived in Florence. All you need to do now is grab your rental car and hit the road? Well, you must be aware that, at Florence airport, car rentals are outside of the terminal and cannot be reached on foot. There is a small shuttle bus service, which runs every 15 minutes and will bring you to car rental area. You can take the shuttle right in front of the terminal.
No chance of getting lost – the bus only goes to the car rental area!
Shuttle bus will of course bring you back to the airport when you return your car.
The offices you see from the bus are just for car return. If you need to take your car, the desks are in the building, on the right of the car rentals parking.
Florence airport – get a picture of Florence skyline!
From your flight, would you like to take a beautiful picture of Florence main church, Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, and its beautiful Cupola del Brunelleschi and Campanile di Giotto? Or simply admire the town skyline?
- When you land, choose the F window seat!
- When you take off, choose the A window seat!
During takeoff, it is sometimes not possible to see the Duomo; but during landing, it will be visible in front-right direction, especially in the night!
I hope you enjoyed my suggestions and found the information shared here helpful and practical. If you like this post, share it!
