Europe's worst airport?

The reputation of the Amalfi Coast precedes any trip with visions of La Dolce Vita, the stupendous beauty of the coastline and a magical and simpler Italy as seen in “Il Postino”. The reputation is not without some truth but the truth of today’s Amalfi Coast is somewhat more complex. The complexity begins with the probability that you will access Amalfi by flying into Naples Airport. This exercise in chaos is owned by our old friends B.A.A. who are in turn owned by Ferrovival, the Spanish brick company.

The previous year Naples had won the title of “Worst Airport in Europe” and from what I could see it was fighting hard to keep the title. Terminal 2 at Naples demonstrates BAA’s advanced sense of humour. It is a former cargo warehouse which has lost none of its ambience a mile from the airport to which the charter flight cattle are bussed. It has no luggage trolleys (either side!) and the “management response” when you mention this at the Information desk is to make a tannoy announcement which they have pre-printed in 12 languages that “there is a shortage of trolleys for operational reasons.” Indeed.

The ambience of the airport does not convey La Dolce Vita. There are not even proper air-conditioned buildings. We are talking about just a collection of pre-war aircraft-hangers in the middle of the one of the most heavily populated, poorest areas of Naples. Rubbish, barbed-wire fences and concrete covered in graffiti. Passengers are shipped in and out on coaches with no logical system or thought. Staff seem either too busy to help or would rather help their fellow Italians on domestic flights. Even the short runway is so full of potholes and rubbish that the pilots have to use all their skill and experience to take-off and land safely. The whole airport needs to be demolished and re-built outside the city.

Proudly wearing our “We saw Naples Airport and didn’t die” badges we made our escape from this proud gateway, but in dread of the thought that we had to come back through it in another week.

This is the spin on the airport website which promises happiness in the future:

" GESAC, the Naples International Airport Management Company, is committed to an important programme of airport development. By December 2008, new infrastructure will be completed which will make Naples airport more functional, safe and efficient."

Dammed with their own faint praise then that the current set up is not particularly functional, safe or efficient. Time will tell but let me tell you - the current crew are part of the problem with their years of experience of managing chaos and failure. Don't just replace the buildings!!