Airport chaos in Sicily, the fire in Catania exposes system flaws.

Last Updated: July 23, 2023

Caos aeroporti in Sicilia, il rogo di Catania mette a nudo le falle di sistema

#Catania
Yesterday (July 22) was another day of chaos at Sicilian airports. While Catania is working to return to normal as quickly as possible, Palermo is still suffering, especially with the baggage delivery system and overcrowding at the airport. To clean up the damaged Terminal A in Catania, which was damaged by a fire on July 16, the airport management company Sac has called in the same American company that operated during the fire that devastated Terminal 3 in Fiumicino in 2015.

“These technicians work in shifts, day and night, without stopping to complete the work as quickly as possible,” assures those who have seen them work in Rome. In front of Terminal C in Catania, a temporary structure has been put into operation to increase the number of aircraft movements at the airport, which currently stands at four per hour. The aim is to better manage passenger flow. Evaluations are also underway regarding the use of the former Morandi terminal to temporarily serve as Terminal B for passengers. This area was used as a vaccination hub during the Covid emergency. Sac, Enac, Civil Protection, Fire Brigade, and the Municipality of Catania have conducted an assessment of the structure.

Technical discussions are ongoing regarding the use of Sigonella and the check-in process for departing passengers, as the Italian military aviation base lacks the necessary logistics. In 2012, during the runway reconstruction at Fontanarossa, a terminal at Catania’s airport was used for the same purpose. This situation also causes inconvenience at Palermo’s Falcone-Borsellino airport.

It was another chaotic day at boarding with the air conditioning systems unable to cool the air due to the large crowds, causing discomfort for those departing. The situation was no easier for arriving passengers, as hundreds of suitcases and trolleys were piled up at the arrivals area in search of their owners. Starting from yesterday, passengers can expedite luggage retrieval at the airport by contacting the lost and found personnel (located in the arrivals hall).

The lost and found staff (managed by GH Palermo) can escort passengers to the baggage claim area for baggage recognition and retrieval. Yesterday, representatives from Filt Cgil, Fit Cisl, Ultrasporti, and Ugl Traporto aereo distributed bottles of cold water to stressed-out workers after the closure of Catania airport.

The fire at Fontanarossa was an unexpected event that exposed all the weaknesses of Sicilian transportation system, including the condition of the highways (over four hours to travel from Catania to Trapani), the lack of railway connections between Palermo and Trapani airports, and the delays in airport investments despite the predicted increase in air traffic.

“I am too old to be surprised by emergencies, and this is not one of the most serious,” explains Vito Riggio, CEO of Gesap, the management company of Palermo’s airport. “This situation requires extra work and responsibility from all operators in the aviation industry, which is a very complex and little-known world.”

In short, the management of this event also has unforeseen aspects. “I had asked for ground personnel to be sent to Palermo from Catania. Out of 50 requested, only 6 arrived. We also have the problem of finding a place for them to sleep since we are in high season,” reveals Riggio. There are no plans for his resignation. “When I took on this position, I informed both the President of the Region, Renato Schifani, and the Mayor, Roberto Lagalla, that my mandate had an expiration date. I wanted to help speed up the progress of the airport works, achieving significant advancement, but in six months, I would like to be out. This is just an emergency and as I said, it is not even one of the most serious.”

Riggio avoids getting involved in the controversies and urges Sicilian politicians to “refrain from making immediate and uninformed judgments regarding the knowledge of aviation law, which I had to invent under pressure from then-Minister Lunardi after the Linate accident.” He also recalls being in favor of consolidating management companies (as Minister Nello Musumeci has stated) and that “the only way to do this is to sell the airports and have them managed by competent companies that can make things work, certainly not local authorities that can’t even manage waste collection services in cities.”