AEROMEDIA
The Italian Aerospace Information Web
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Turin Airport’s Traffic Data 2012

In 2012, Turin’s Caselle Airport saw a decrease of 5.1% in the total number of passengers. The decrease is due to the general economic downturn but also to specific causes such as the Wind Jet demise in August. The consequent cancellation of the Turin-Catania connections was later overcome by two new daily services operated by AirOne which, on October 1, 2012, opened its fifth operational base at Catania.
In October 2012, LOT Polish Airlines cancelled their Turin-Katowice service, operated from 2007. Also in coincidence with the new 2012/2013 winter schedule, Alitalia suspended the domestic flights to Alghero (Sardinia), which will be resumed in April 2013. Earlier in 2012, the Luxair scheduled connection to Luxembourg was also discontinued.
During the last months of the year, two more airlines which had been very active at Turin/Caselle - Blue Panorama e Meridiana-Air Italy – hit industrial difficulties, further reducing frequencies to other important domestic destinations.
2012 passengers at Turin’s main airport were 3,521,847, in comparison to 3,710,485 in 2011. The same decrease (-5.1%) was recorded in daily aircraft movements, which today are around 85 (arrivals and departures), against an average of 130 in 2007.
In 2012, between the domestic destinations, Rome was the most popular with 876,614 passengers. Second came Naples (298,216), with Catania third (250,445). London (Gatwick airport with British Airways and EasyJet, and Stansted with Ryanair) was Turin’s most popular European capital, totalling 213,550 passengers. Frankfurt, served by Lufthansa, recorded 188,892 pax, and Paris/Charles de Gaulle, served by Air France, recorded 188,814. Other important destinations were Bari (164,459 passengers), Munich (129,231), Madrid (113,344) and Palermo (105,586).
The best load factor in 2012 was registered by the Turin-Trapani (Sicily) flight operated by Ryanair, who also recorded an 88% load factor for their low-cost services to Bari and Brindisi, in Southern Italy. Alitalia’s best result was 87% for the Turin-Reggio Calabria domestic service. Ryanair also registered an 81% load factor in their Turin-London/Stansted flight.
In the past year, traffic towards European hubs increased by 3.4%, registering almost 730.000 passengers. Turin airport is connected with Munich, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid, Istambul and Lisbon, the latter being a new 2012 destination. Turkish Airlines has recently increased frequencies to Istambul.
In 2012, Alitalia - Compagnia Aerea Italiana, through their various carriers, was by far the major operator at Turin/Caselle, totalling 1,180,672 passengers. Ryanair were in second position, increasing their overall share (17%), with 601,264 passengers.
None-the-less, the low-cost sector at Caselle averaged a 7% decrease (982,296 pax), despite the inauguration of new low-fare flights, such as the Turin-London/Gatwick service, operated by easyJet twice a week from December 15, 2012.
Charter traffic rose by 8.5% with 185,000 passengers (with 62% being arrivals). The principal outbound destinations include Marsa Alam, Sharm El Sheik, Kos, Rhodes, Ibiza, Djerba and Crete. The incoming charter traffic – mainly represented by the “snow flights” – came as usual from London, Birmingham, Bristol, Moscow, Copenhagen and Stockholm. Unfortunately, in January 2013, the winter charter activity at Turin/Caselle airport decreased by about 18%.
In this highly unfavourable situation, the cash-strapped Turin Municipality was forced to finalize the sale of some major public assets, including its 28% stake of SAGAT, the Turin airport managing agency. This “privatization” being just one of many disputed and unpopular sales of public participations all over Italy.
On December 21, 2012, The Turin Municipality had no real chance to refuse the offer of F2i private fund (Fondo Italiano per le Infrastrutture, Mr. Vito Gamberale) which bought the 28% of SAGAT for just 35 million Euro, against a reported real value of 58.8 million Euro.
On January 23, 2013, the second bidder at the initial auction (the Sintonia private fund of the Benetton Group) sold its 24.385% stake in SAGAT. 22.786% of this went to the same F2i fund, and 1.599% to Tecnoinvestimenti (headed by Mr. Enrico Salza).
Due to the fact that SAGAT is also the owner of 55.4% of Aeroporti Holding, which in turn has a 33.4% stake in “Aeroporti di Firenze SpA” and 7.2% of “Aeroporto G. Marconi di Bologna SpA”, F2i fund significantly increased its presence in the Italian airport sector.
On February 5, 2013, the assembly of the SAGAT stakeholders (now controlled by F2i) named the members of the new Management Board, as follows: Maurizio Montagnese (President), Daniel John Winteler (CEO), Annalisa Andreetta, Domenico Cempella, Giuseppina Falappa, Laura Pascotto, Fiorenzo Tasso, Gian Luigi Garrino, Alberto Eichholzer, Paolo Vernero e Vincenzo Ilotte (Members of the Council).
During this hectic SAGAT transition phase, in January, 2012, Caselle registered a further 14.7% decrease in passenger traffic. In the same month (8 January) the Turin-Amsterdam flight operated by Alitalia was cancelled, and - on January 12 - Belle Air of Albania made its last scheduled flight to Tirana. As a partial relief, on January 23, Alitalia increased capacity on the Turin-Naples route, discontinued by Meridiana-Air Italy, replacing the Embraer ERJ-175 regional jets previously used for its same connection with larger Airbus A 319 aircraft.
According to the statistical data released by Assaeroporti – the Association of the Italian Airport Management Agencies – the average passenger downturn registered in 2012 in the national airports was 1.3%. Commercial aircraft movements decreased by 4.5% and air freight by 4.9%. At a national level, Turin’s airport ranked 14th (13th in 2011) for passenger numbers, and 9th both for cargo activity (10.543 tons) and movements (51.773). This figure for aircraft movements does not include those for general and business aviation, State, humanitarian and military aircraft, or the approximately 500 test flights performed annually by Alenia Aermacchi.

(Also from press releases by SAGAT - Turin/Caselle Airport, Italy – February 2 and 5, 2013)

In the picture: View of the apron of Turin/Caselle “Sandro Pertini” airport (TRN/LIMF) in 2012. (Aeromedia)

(Aeromedia, February 2013)