Bolzano: 1,432 metres, not 1,293 — and in winter it is the right airport for the Dolomites
It is the smallest of the six airports that serve the Dolomites, and in winter it is the one that gets the client to the destination without surprises.
By car
By car
By car
By car
Transfer times and distances as published by the airports, the operators and the tourist boards. Where a figure is missing, no public source publishes it.
The resorts this airport serves
| Resort | ICAO | km | By car | By helicopter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alta Badia | — | 109 | 1h 30 | — |
| Madonna di Campiglio | — | 89 | 1h 45 | — |
| Val Gardena | — | 60 | 1h 00 | — |
| Cortina d'Ampezzo | — | 107 | 2h 15 | — |
A dash means no public source publishes that figure. We write the dash instead of estimating it.
What constrains the flight Operating notes written in Italian
- PPR obbligatorio per tutti i voli di aviazione generale non basati: si chiede al gestore prima del piano di volo.
- Per il volo strumentale serve una qualifica specifica dell'equipaggio rilasciata dall'aeroporto stesso, con minimi di ore e settori e validita' dodici mesi.
- Aperto 05:30-22:00 UTC-1, estendibile a richiesta. Volo notturno a vista vietato salvo elicotteri.
- Avvicinamenti ripidi, con gradiente fino a cinque gradi: oltre le raccomandazioni ICAO. Fondovalle circondato da rilievi.
- Touch-and-go vietati sulla pista principale; sorvoli sotto i 1.000 piedi vietati.
- Due piazzole sul piazzale principale per aeromobili sopra le cinque tonnellate: in alta stagione si prenota.
Season and peaks Operating notes written in Italian
- Opens
- operativo tutto l'anno
- Closes
- nessuna
- Peaks
- 18-23 dicembre: Val Gardena, Gran Risa e 3Tre nella stessa settimana
- Natale-Capodanno
- febbraio
The number almost everyone gets wrong
The runway at Bolzano is 1,432 metres by 45, at 787 feet of elevation. Not 1,293. It was lengthened and rebuilt, and it has been in service since 11 December 2021. Almost every private aviation site still carries the old figure, and they are not alone: two official documents from the operator itself are out of date as well, the 2016 factsheet and the pilot briefing of July 2021. If someone tells you Bolzano has twelve hundred metres, he is reading an expired chart.
What gets in, and on what terms
Turboprops and light jets, with a performance check case by case. That is not a polite formula: thirteen hundred usable metres at 240 metres of elevation, with approaches reaching a five-degree gradient — beyond ICAO recommendations — and a valley floor ringed by high ground, are conditions that change the take-off calculation with weight and temperature. Prior permission from the airport operator is required for every non-based general aviation flight. And to operate under instrument rules the crew needs a specific qualification, issued by the airport itself, with minimum hours and sectors and twelve months' validity. It is the constraint that most often catches out anyone arriving with a new operator.
Why we recommend it in winter all the same
Because of the road. From Bolzano you take the Brenner motorway, come off at Bressanone or Chiusa and climb the Val Badia: an hour and a half, and you cross no pass at all. From Venice or Treviso, by contrast, the road to Alta Badia goes over the Falzarego and the Valparola, which close without warning after every heavy snowfall. Venice has the longest runway, customs and the best onward connection — and in winter it remains the wrong choice.
Hours and things to know
Open from 05:30 to 22:00, extendable on request. Night visual flight is prohibited, helicopters excepted. Touch-and-go is not allowed on the main runway, and overflights below a thousand feet are not permitted. The main apron has two stands for aircraft above five tonnes: in high season you book, you don't simply turn up. Customs are there: Bolzano is an official air border crossing point.
Questions we get
How long is the runway at Bolzano?
1,432 metres by 45, since 11 December 2021. The figure of 1,293 metres still found online is out of date.
What aircraft can land at Bolzano?
Turboprops and light jets, with a performance check case by case. For a larger aircraft you land at Verona, Venice or Innsbruck.
Do you need permission to land?
Yes. Prior permission from the airport operator is compulsory for all non-based general aviation flights, and instrument flight also requires a crew qualification issued by the airport.
Which resorts does Bolzano serve?
Alta Badia in an hour and a half, Madonna di Campiglio in about two hours, Val Gardena in a little over an hour. For Cortina it is quicker from Venice or Treviso.
Can you land at night?
No. The airport closes at twenty-two hundred and night visual flight is prohibited, helicopters excepted. For an evening arrival you land at Verona, which is open twenty-four hours.
Are there customs?
Yes, Bolzano is an official air border crossing point: you can arrive from outside Schengen.
Tell us the date. We tell you where you land.
Give us the day and how many of you are travelling: we come back with the airport that holds up on that date, the aircraft that fits your luggage and what the last leg costs.
Sources
- bolzanoairport.it — Dati tecnici dell'aeroporto (gestore ABD)
- ansa.it — Allungamento della pista a 1.432 m, agibile dall'11 dicembre 2021
- deskaeronautico.it — PPR obbligatorio e divieto di touch-and-go
- bolzanoairport.it — Qualifica dell'equipaggio per il volo strumentale
- eur-lex.europa.eu — Valichi di frontiera aerei italiani (Gazzetta ufficiale UE)
What is not confirmed
This page carries 3 figures that come from our own operating data or from a brief, and that we have not been able to confirm against a public document. They are listed here rather than left where they look like facts.
Open the Italian notes
- La categoria antincendio dichiarata (quinta classe) viene dal Regolamento di Scalo del 2013: va riverificata.
- Non esiste un limite formale di categoria massima di aeromobile pubblicato: la fascia realistica e' una valutazione nostra, da confermare volo per volo.
- I tempi di percorrenza sono forchette realistiche calcolate senza traffico e maggiorate.