Infrastructure Work
Aeroporto Marconi di Bologna Spa has unveiled an ambitious Investment Plan valued at 216 million euros, spanning five years from 2023 to 2027. Of this, around 30 million was spent in 2023.
The Plan includes:
- Major infrastructural upgrades to improve the management of some areas of the Terminal and support passenger and merchandise traffic;
- Sustainability interventions necessary to mitigate the environmental footprint of the airport's operations and to achieve carbon neutrality commitments by 2030;
- technological and process Innovation interventions to create a smart and digital airport, identifying practical solutions to enhance the customer experience and developing tools to support the business and an agile organisation.
These are the most significant interventions planned for 2023-2027, with some already concluded and others set to extend beyond the five-year timeframe:
- New detention basin - work completed
- Expansion of lot III apron - work completed
- Refurbishment of the Cargo Area - work completed
- Reconfiguration of the walkway and external area of the first floor of the Terminal - work completed
- Redevelopment of Passport Control in the departures area - work completed
- Redevelopment of the Security Checks area - work in progress
- Expansion and reconfiguration of the Schengen Departure lounge - work in progress
- Creation of a wooded area north of the runway - work in progress
- New multi-storey car park - work in progress
- Expansion and upgrading of the Non-Schengen Arrivals area - work in progress
- Positioning of digital kiosks for the registration of departing and arriving non-EU passengers - work in progress
- Expansion of the passenger terminal - design in progress
- North airside photovoltaic plant - design in progress
As regards the Schengen Departure lounge, the expansion of 1,170 square metres of space was opened in October 2024, of which 750 square meters are available to passengers for transit and waiting. The reconfiguration works also continue within the same boarding area, which include the refurbishment of the gates and the positioning of new seats in addition to the stylistic standardisation of the area.
The work will be completed in 2025 and will lead to an increase of 82% in operating spaces and of 94% in seats compared to the current layout. In the long term, the plan is to expand the Terminal by constructing a new Departures and Arrivals Pier, increasing the surface area by about 25 thousand square metres on two levels and optimising passenger embarkation and disembarkation times. The re-engineering of the project is currently underway, with work slated to begin in 2027 following the completion of various authorisation stages.
For the Security area, work is underway to expand and upgrade the queuing spaces and to replace the existing X-ray machines with the new “standard 3” machines. These innovative machines offer a superior security standard for hand luggage checks, enabling passengers to keep liquids and electronic devices in their baggage during security screening. Four X-ray machines have already been replaced and the same number of security control stations have been upgraded, while the replacement and upgrading of the remaining 4 lines is in progress. The full upgrade of the security area will be completed in 2025.
Work on the passport control area in departures, on the other hand, was already completed in 2023.
Regarding car parks, work is underway on a new multi-storey facility comprising two buildings with eight levels, providing over 2,200 parking spaces. Work on the first 1,100 spaces will be completed by 2025, while the whole facility will be completed by 2026.
Regarding aircraft parking, a new aircraft apron was built in the “Lot III” area in 2023, covering 42 thousand square metres of movement area. It features 4 parking stands designated for code “E” aircraft, or 9 stands for code “C” aircraft, which will enable the airport to handle even larger aircraft.
The refurbishment of the cargo area was completed at the beginning of 2024, with a view to increasing storage capacity, reorganising the internal spaces and optimising space utilisation. New freezer and refrigerator cells were purchased, and new doors constructed for palletising.
In summer 2023, work for the reconfiguration of the walkway on the first floor of the passenger terminal was also completed, encompassing a full renovation of the external area, pedestrian walkways, and parking zones. Improvements were made to enhance traffic flow within the airport’s internal road network, including the widening of the roundabout, the construction of a rapid exit route towards the city in the cargo area by placing new dynamic digital signs that provide real-time information on available parking spaces in each car park. Dynamic digital signage will be further enhanced during the year.
Looking ahead, regarding road infrastructure, a collaborative project has been initiated with the Municipality of Bologna to implement a Controlled Traffic Zone (ZTC) at the airport, similar to systems in place at other Italian airports. This initiative aims to automatically monitor the duration of vehicle stays in airport zones to enhance traffic flow and deter unauthorised parking.
