Italy’s Riviera Airport, home to Piaggio Aerospace’s new manufacturing plant, has unveiled its intentions to market itself as a new dedicated, business and general aviation hub for the Northern Mediterranean area. The management of the privately owned and operated airport, located in Villanova d'Albenga in the Liguria region, plans to create a new runway, associated infrastructure and customs and immigration clearance. Its current 4,688-foot (1,429-meter) runway can handle aircraft with a takeoff weight of up to 66 tons (60 metric tons/145,500 pounds).
“Riviera Airport offers our clients the privilege of flying depending entirely on their own schedule, and it represents a competitive alternative in the existing mature market,” said Clemens Toussaint, chairman of Aeropolis, which owns more than 99 percent of the airport shares. “Riviera Airport could also be a strategic option for the Principality of Monaco, which has no runway of its own,” he added, noting Monte Carlo is less than an hour's drive, or a 20-minute helicopter shuttle flight.
The site could be further developed into a regional business aviation center. “A binational airport managed jointly by the Italian State and by the Principality of Monaco would be a unique experience for both countries and would create extraordinary business opportunities in the entire area,” Toussaint concluded.