Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport d'Ajaccio-Napoléon-Bonaparte; co, link=no, Aeruportu di Aiacciu Nabulione Buonaparte; ), formerly "Campo dell'Oro Airport", is the main

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

serving

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the '' Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsic ...

on the French island of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

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 north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. It is located in

, the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

of the

Corse-du-Sud Corse-du-Sud (; co, link=no, Corsica suttana , or ; en, Southern Corsica) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of France, consisting of the southern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collect ...

department, east of the harbour. The airport is the main base of

regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

Air Corsica ''Compagnie Aérienne Corse Méditerranée S.A.E.M.'' ( co, Cumpagnia Aerea Corsa Mediterrania), trading as Air Corsica (formerly ''CCM Airlines''), is the flag carrier of the French insular region of Corsica, with its head office on the ground ...

, which operates services to continental France. It is named for

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

, who was born in Ajaccio.

History

Campo dell'Oro, before aviation, was an alluvial plain at the mouth of the Gravona. 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

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

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

Air Corps unit was kept inactive at Campo dell'Oro. The

liberation of Corsica Italian-occupied Corsica refers to the military (and administrative) occupation by the Kingdom of Italy of the island of Corsica during the Second World War, from November 1942 to September 1943. After an initial period of increased control over th ...

began with the landing by sea in 1943 of

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

at Ajaccio in Operation Vésuve. A few months later Fighter Group GC2/7 of the

Free French Air Force The Free French Air Forces (french: Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, 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 Fre ...

, a French unit of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

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

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

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 airport and put down a hard surface of perforated metallic mats from which a squadron of

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

s flew. They defended B-26s 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.

Airlines and destinations

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

Statistics

Other facilities

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 on board.

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 air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

Buildings and structures in Corse-du-Sud