Italy's National Airport Plan Sets Out Nationwide Advanced Air Mobility Roadmap

Italy's Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) has released a draft National Airport Plan that, alongside a range of policy measures, aims to open a national conversation on the opportunities presented by Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and to explore testing and regulatory frameworks for bringing AAM technologies to market.

How Does ENAC Define AAM?

ENAC defines AAM as "air systems that are typically electrically powered and primarily capable of vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL), encompassing both crewed and uncrewed (UAS, including drones) aircraft."

The plan identifies the greatest challenge as integrating AAM infrastructure into urban environments, while establishing standards covering environmental impact, visual intrusion, and noise levels.

Vertiport Development Plans

To integrate air mobility at a national level, Italy plans to build at least 6 urban vertiports and 4 airport vertiports across multiple cities and airport sites. The proposed locations are as follows:

• Milan: 2 urban vertiports/vertical hubs + 1 airport vertical hub
• Rome: 2 urban vertiports/vertipads + 1 airport vertical hub
• Turin: Facilities to be determined
• Venice: 1 airport vertical hub
• Bari: Facilities to be determined
• Cortina: Vertipad

To define infrastructure requirements precisely — covering both new-build facilities and upgrades to existing ones — ENAC plans to conduct in-depth studies focusing on transport plan integration and traffic demand analysis.

186 Existing Facilities to Be Upgraded

The plan also calls for upgrading 186 existing facilities to make them AAM-capable. This figure is derived as follows:

• 94 facilities identified across five cities: Rome, Milan, Turin, Venice, and Bari
• An average of 2 additional facilities per major province across the 46 provinces within the catchment areas of those five cities

In terms of upgrade scope, 70% of facilities will undergo straightforward conversions, primarily involving the installation of systems and technology needed to handle AAM services. The remaining 30% will require more extensive works, including expansion and the addition of new take-off and landing areas.

Taranto-Grottaglie Airport: Hub for High-Altitude Operations and Suborbital Flight

The plan also includes proposals to expand high-altitude airspace operations. Italy's Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has designated Taranto-Grottaglie Airport as a dedicated facility for this domain, with priorities including:

• Promoting research and development in suborbital flight
• Supporting microsatellite launch activities via airborne and maritime platforms
• Establishing a technology hub and international laboratory focused on next-generation air transport technologies, including AAM

ENAC has stated that these initiatives will be formally launched with sustainability as a core objective, following the review and validation of participating companies' business plans.

Image credit: Milan Malpensa Airport (Shutterstock)

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