Shining a spotlight on Italy’s Piemonte region, the two regional hubs of Turin Airport and Cuneo Airport will host Connect route development forum in 2024.
As this year’s Connect event drew to a close in Tangier, the new hosts were announced in a handover ceremony attended by delegates from the Piemonte region and facilitated by Karin Butot, CEO, The Airport Agency (the event’s organiser, pictured first left).
As the main gateway to the Piemonte region, Turin Airport has undergone various investments over the last year to enhance the passenger journey. These include new 3D security control (during fast track process), improvements to the passport control area, an updated VIP lounge and new work stations with charging capabilities targeted at business travellers.
Other areas the airport has worked on include enhanced car parking and car hire facilities, a direct bus shuttle between the airport and centre of Turin and ongoing work to improve rail connections to and from Turin, which is due to be complete by the end of 2023.
Pietro Paolo Papale, Commercial Director at Turin Airport (pictured third from left) underlined the airport’s commitment to sustainable growth going forward as he said the airport’s ESG sustainability objectives have become an integral part of the airport’s management activities.
“Several sustainable projects aimed at the airport’s recovery have been implemented in the last 12 months,” he said.
These include: Ryanair opening a base at the airport, supporting the local community in its economic recovery, serving as a vaccination hub for the local population, the Turin Green Airport project (which was launched in 2021) to help reduce carbon emissions and ensure environmental sustainability.
“The latter is focused on TULIPS European consortium partnership, developing a fuel cell hydrogen-ready system and circular economy.” As well as joining ACI Europe’s NetZero 2050 programme, the airport has also achieved Level 3-Optimisation accreditation as part of the International Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.
As the second gateway to the Piemonte region, Cuneo Airport will co-host Connect 2024 alongside Turin. The airport’s CEO, Anna Milanese (pictured second left), described the announcement as a “great opportunity for Cuneo as a gateway to the region. We are keen to share with airlines and other stakeholders what we have to offer in one of Italy’s most affluent regions.”
The area is well known for its truffle hunting and also its wines and is a popular winter sports hub with access to multiple ski resorts. The two airports have a catchment of more than 4.4 million (7.3% of the Italian population). Popular among the business and general aviation community, Cuneo Airport saw its figures for private aviation traffic double in 2022 compared to 2019 figures.
