Aeroporti di Puglia has a 40-year total concession to manage the airports of Bari, Brindisi, Foggia and Taranto Grottaglie, which together constitute the Apulian airport network, the first to be designated in Italy, implementing EU Directive 2009/12, law no. 27/2012 and in compliance with the National Airport Plan that envisages “…incentives for the establishment of airport networks or systems, which are believed to be the key to overcoming inefficiency, reducing costs and allowing integrated growth of airports, with possible specialisations thereof…”.

This is a recognition of great importance for the Apulian airports, which in fact are already operating as a regional system of diffusion and specialisation. As the sole manager of the regional airport network, the company has provided a great boost to the development of infrastructure, the growth of connections and traffic and the constant improvement of the quality standards of the services provided.

Puglia is one of the first Italian regions to adopt a plan for a steady development of its airport system: a logic which the airport network inserted in a context of diffusion and specialization, which identifies, for each airport, specific operational and traffic needs in order to challenge the international crisis that affected the aeronautical sector. The Italian Government Act for the National Plan of Airports confirms the validity of the approach chosen by the Puglia Region: the inclusion of the airport of Bari in the list of strategic airports, and those of Brindisi and Taranto in the list of National interest is a clear recognition of the level of excellence achieved in recent years both in terms of infrastructures, and from an intermodal (rail-air link, as is the case in Bari) standpoint.

As part of the regional airport network, the Taranto hub plays a prominent cargo-logistics role, and it is an example of international integration between aviation and aerospace industry. The airport, already an integral part of the international Alenia program for manufacturing the Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” fuselage, is currently praised for its role as a strategic European research infrastructure in the aeronautical and aerospace fields.

The Apulia airport network represents then, for location and infrastructures, one of the most interesting European and Italian realities. Its favorable position in the middle of a strategic area like the Mediterranean, makes it an essential asset inside continental transport networks.