Pisa Airport

Just a note on arriving. If you are going to Florence or anywhere by train and your not on your own. The queue for train tickets soon builds up so while one of you wait for the bags the other one should shoot out and get the tickets to save queuing for 20-30 mins. Train service is excellent.

Pisa airport has good connections but is too small for its traffic and totally disorganised. If you are leaving from there do all your shopping/eating land-side as once through the security there is very little and even less in the way of seating accomodation. One lady last weekend was loudly bragging about the bottle of spirits she has got through security and just as loudly sharing with her friends. Another was soulfully relating how security had relieved her of several bottles of olive oil she had been bringing as presents. Patchy security service then. We were due to leave from Gate 22 but access was restricted until 30 mins before departure when we were allowed through to an upstairs lounge with no shops but loads of space and seats! Why didn't they just do this earlier and relieve the crush downstairs? As a final fling our departure was delayed 15 mins because it was raining - apparently the ground handling staff were taking longer to move things about!

Pisa airport is far too small for the number of passengers using it. Upon arrival we found the queues at the car rental desks horrendous (at least 2 hours waiting time). The departure area was totally overcrowded the number of the check-in counter(s) for each flight were only announced two hours before departure which resulted in passengers running and pushing towards the counters the minute the number appeared on the screen. Seating was insufficient especially before security check. We were travelling with two elderly ladies with walking difficulties but nobody could tell us where we could get our reserved wheelchair until we queue-jumped at the check-in counter. At security check we were asked our destination (Amsterdam) then all our carry-on bags were searched and I was lectured about having a bottle of sunblock in my bag ("didn't you read the notice: no liquids if you travel to USA or UK!"). Patiently tried to explain that Amsterdam is not in the USA or UK. On the plus side I found the staff very helpful wheelchair handling was excellent and access to the airport is good. However overall the airport is too overcrowded and I certainly doubt if I would want to use it again.

Pisa was a fine airport in the 1990s when only a few airlines served it and the Italian Air Force was the largest occupant. The facilities have quickly become obsolete as civilian air and passenger traffic increased rapidly in the past 5 years. Easyjet Ryanair Windjet Hapag Lloyd Express and a number of other lowcost carriers have added numerous flights and destinations. Security lines can be frustrating - though many airports share the same problem. The gate area has recently been expanded but seating is still insufficient when too many flights leave at once. Sometimes overcrowded the sense of confusion and chaos is often conveyed by the boarding process of airlines with no seat assignment with passengers standing in (questionable) lines well before boarding starts. Luggage delivery times are ok if there no more than two flights arrive simultaneously. Otherwise the small carousel in a small area makes the long wait very unpleasant. Overall an obsolete airport but it could be a lot worse: ground transportation is very good. Pisa city center is nearby a train and a bus service link the airport to Florence.

Pisa has an excellent location - just 2km from the town. Connections exist to Florence by bus and train (just over an hour) while locally the bus number one goes through the centre of the town for just 85 cents. There is also plenty of clear information with regard to this at the airport. Check in was rapid and the organisation of flight boarding good.

Pisa is a lively and nice airport; even though it isn't very big it is very busy. Especially during the summer period. There are a lot of low cost airlines serving there connecting Tuscany with all Europe. The airport is just a few minutes by bus from the town centre and has its own train station from which it is possible to get to Florence in just one hour. Despite the fact the the airport is quite busy the flights are usually on time; check in may last a bit so I suggest to go to the airport at least one hour and half before the flight is due to take off. Definitely one the best way to travel from U.K. and the centre of Italy.

Pisa remains a very user friendly airport in many ways. However beware of one thing. There are now a large number of flights departing to the U.K mid morning and as at early May 2005 neither security nor passport control was ready for this. The upshot was that there was such queue at passport control that passengers on the Ryanair flight to Liverpool could not respond quickly to the last call or boarding the flight missed a slot it had for an early departure and in fact left 20 minutes late. A very small glitch as the flight actually arrived only a couple of minutes late. However as the number of flights and passengers increase through the summer this looks like a problem that is going to increase rather than decrease.

Small airport with a surprising amount of cheap flights from UK (and elsewhere). On arrival luggage was delivered efficiently and on departure everything went smoothly too. The restaurant/bar landside has a nice outside veranda. Only complaint is the length of the queues at the car hire desks.

Pisa has a railway station with connections to most of Tuscany. This makes it the best airport for most things in the region with regular connections to Luca Florence and Pisa itself. Moreover because it's at the end of the line there's no chance of missing your stop on the way back. That said the shops and restaurants are lack lustre and the railway station could be better signed (turn right for tickets and left for the trains and don't forget to validate your ticket).