Taranto-Grottaglie Airport

Taranto-Grottaglie Airport

Aeroporto di Taranto-Grottaglie
Taranto-Grottaglie Airport; Aeroporto di Taranto-Grottaglie
	IATA: TAR; ICAO: LIBG;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Serves	Taranto / Grottaglie, Italy
Elevation AMSL	215 ft / 66 m
Coordinates	40°31′03″N 017°24′11″E / 40.51750°N 17.40306°E
Map
	Taranto Location of airport in Italy
Runways
Statistics (2022)
Passengers
Passengers	1,083
Passenger change 21-22	10.1%
Aircraft movements	913
Movements change 21-22	2.1%
Cargo (tons)	908
Cargo change 21-22	-39.2%
	Source: DAFIF

Taranto-Grottaglie "Marcello Arlotta" Airport (Italian: Aeroporto di Taranto-Grottaglie "Marcello Arlotta") (IATA: TAR, ICAO: LIBG) is an airport serving Taranto and Grottaglie, both comunes in the province of Taranto in Italy. The airport is located 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) from the city of Monteiasi, 4 km (2.5 mi) from Grottaglie and 16 km (9.9 mi) from Taranto. It is named for Marcello Arlotta (1886–1918), an Italian aviator.

Overview

The airport is used for general aviation, with no commercial airline service. As Alenia Aeronautica produces big fuselage parts of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in a hangar located beside an airport's apron, multiple times a month, a Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter, also known as Dreamlifter, lands at Taranto Grottaglie to pick up the parts and fly them to the Boeing factory at Paine Field and Boeing South Carolina at Charleston International Airport for final assembly. Those flights are operated by Atlas Air. It is also known as Taranto-Grottaglie Airport or Grottaglie Airport. In August 2012, the broker ESAFLY announced that it plans to commence scheduled services from Taranto.^[3]

History

In 1923 Grottaglie was a military airfield of Regia Aeronautica. During World War II, it was used by Regia Aeronautica and after by the United States Army Air Forces. The airfield was designed for heavy bomber use, and was a major base for Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberator heavy bombers used in the strategic bombardment campaign against Germany. In addition, Twelfth Air Force tactical bombers were stationed at the airfield which were used to support Allied ground forces in the Italian Campaign.

Known USAAF units assigned to the airfield were:

47th Bombardment Group, 24 Sep-15 Oct 1943, A-20 Havoc (12 AF)
321st Bombardment Group, 15 Oct-20 Nov 1943, B-25 Mitchell (12 AF)
5th Reconnaissance Group, (F-5 (P-38) Lightning), November 1943 - 28 December 1944
449th Bombardment Group, 4 Jan 1944-16 May 1945, B-24 Liberator (15 AF)
416th Night Fighter Squadron, 30 Sep 1943-28 Jan 1944, Bristol Beaufighter (12 AF)^[4]^[5]

Soon after the airport had been seized by the Allies in September 1943, 205th Battery from 89th (Cinque Ports) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, arrived to protect the USAAF build-up.^[6]

After the war ended, the airfield was turned over to local authorities, and in 1950 it was the air base of 86º Gruppo Antisom (Antisubmarine Warfare Wing) of the Italian Air Force. In 1979 it was a naval air station of the Italian Navy.^{[citation needed]}

Facilities

The airport resides at an elevation of 215 feet (66 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 17/35 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,200 by 45 metres (10,499 ft × 148 ft).^[1]

Spaceport

As of July 2018, there is an announcement of operating the aerodrome as a commercial spaceport.^[7]^[8]

Accidents and incidents

On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, a Boeing Dreamlifter aircraft (registration N718BA) on its way to Charleston, South Carolina, United States as Atlas Air flight 5Y-4231, lost one of its front wheels after take-off from the airport. The wheel crashed near a highway adjacent to the airport. The flight crew decided to continue their flight and landed safely some 11 hours later at their destination.^[9]

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at TAR airport. See Wikidata query.

References

^ ^a ^b Airport information for LIBG^[usurped] from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
^ Airport information for TAR at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
^ volaspheric: Italian broker ESAFLY plans to commence scheduled services from Taranto
^ Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
^ Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
^ 89 HAA Rgt War Diary, 1943, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, UK, file WO 169/9547.
^ "Virgin Galactic". www.virgingalactic.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-10.
^ Horowitz, Jason (31 July 2018). "Ceramics Aren't Enough. Bring on the Spaceships, Italian Town Says". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
^ "Incident: Boeing BLCF at Taranto on Oct 11th 2022, dropped wheel on departure".

External links

Media related to Taranto Grottaglie Airport at Wikimedia Commons

[WAD-1] Airport information for LIBG^[usurped] from DAFIF (effective October 2006)

[GCM-2] Airport information for TAR at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).

[3] volaspheric: Italian broker ESAFLY plans to commence scheduled services from Taranto

[4] Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.

[5] Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.

[6] 89 HAA Rgt War Diary, 1943, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, UK, file WO 169/9547.

[7] "Virgin Galactic". www.virgingalactic.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-10.

[8] Horowitz, Jason (31 July 2018). "Ceramics Aren't Enough. Bring on the Spaceships, Italian Town Says". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 July 2018.

[9] "Incident: Boeing BLCF at Taranto on Oct 11th 2022, dropped wheel on departure".

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