Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport , formerly "Campo dell'Oro Airport", is the main airport serving

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

on the French island of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. It is located east of Ajaccio, the capital and main city on Corsica. The airport is the main base of regional airline Air Corsica, which operates services to continental France. It is named after

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, who was born in Ajaccio.

History

Campo dell'Oro, before aviation, was an

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a plain (an essentially flat landform) created by the deposition of sediment over a long period by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A ''floodplain'' is part of the process, bei ...

at the mouth of the Gravona river. The toponym's origin, meaning "Field of Gold", remains obscure; some 19th century authors refer to a "rich cropland"; others, to a malaria-infested marshland. A grass flying field existed there before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

but apparently offered no transportation services, as the first regular flights to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

began with the institution of a seaplane service in 1935 from Ajaccio Harbor. In 1940, a

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

Air Corps unit was kept inactive at Campo dell'Oro. The liberation of Corsica began with the landing by sea in 1943 of the French 1st Army Corps at Ajaccio in Operation Vésuve. A few months later Fighter Group GC 2/7 of the

Free French Air Force The Free French Air Forces (, FAFL) were the air arm of the Free French Forces in the Second World War, created by Charles de Gaulle in 1940. The designation ceased to exist in 1943 when the Free French Forces merged with General Giraud's force ...

, a French unit of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, were operational on the grass field at Campo dell'Oro with

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

s. Heavy aircraft were unable to land and came to mishap in the soft surface. In 1944 the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

took over the airfield and put down a hard surface of perforated metallic mats from which a squadron of

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...

fighters flew. They defended

B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...

bombers flying from new airfields constructed on the east coast of

. Campo dell'Oro was a challenge for the larger aircraft because of its relatively short runways and proximity to the mountains. Toward the end of the war, the runways were paved, forming the foundation of the modern airport. On 16 April 1981, President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing was the target of an attempted assassination at the airport grounds by the National Liberation Front of Corsica. Before the crash of Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308, the airport had no radar, and its holding pattern had aircraft fly over mountains. After the crash, the holding pattern was shifted over the ocean and aircraft radar was installed.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport:

Statistics

Other facilities

Air Corsica has its head office on the airport property.

Incidents and accidents

* On 1 December 1981, Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308 crashed while on approach to this airport, killing all 180 on board.

Notes

References

External links

Ajaccio Airport CCI Ajaccio et Corse-du-Sud

Aéroport d'Ajaccio Napoléon Bonaparte
– Union des Aéroports Français * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ajaccio - Napoleon Bonaparte Airports in Corsica

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

Buildings and structures in Corse-du-Sud